


Entanglement

by ClaraxBarton



Series: Entanglement Arc [4]
Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-29
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-01-26 23:38:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 91,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1706783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClaraxBarton/pseuds/ClaraxBarton
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was supposed to be one night, a threesome with a stranger to celebrate their anniversary, but it got complicated.<br/>Sequel to: King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day<br/>1x2x3</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

A/N: I wrote Defeated as a one shot, but then I wrote King of Hearts (actually a prequel to Defeated) for the 2014 Smut Off with Miss-Murdered and I’ve just fallen in love with these characters so I wrote Brand New Day. Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots before reading this.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter One

As Trowa walked into the locker room at La Palestra he tried to shrug off the feeling that today was going to be a very bad day.  
He wasn’t sure why it felt so ominous - his court appearance this afternoon was to deliver opening statements in an overwhelmingly simple case - and his day had started out much the same as it always did.  
At five-thirty he and Duo got up, Duo grumbling as he put on his running clothes and shoes and Trowa packing his gym bag and managing to grab Duo for a morning kiss before he left. He had taken a cab across town to the Rushmore and, as usual, he had the locker room to himself in the gym. Everything was normal.  
Except that it wasn’t, not really.  
Trowa pulled on his jammers and had to admit to himself that while Duo had stood still long enough for Trowa to kiss him before leaving their apartment for his morning run, he hadn’t kissed him back - hadn’t grabbed Trowa’s ass and smirked against his mouth, hadn’t tried to get him to go back to bed, hadn’t made any lewd comments, hadn’t promised to engage in some very inappropriate office sex later.  
It had been like this for the past two weeks, ever since they had followed Darlian’s instructions to take Heero Yuy out and court him for MLG. That night…  
Trowa was usually level headed, even when it came to Duo, but seeing his husband dancing with Heero, watching the way their bodies fit together and the lust in their eyes had pushed him to an alien place of concern - but then Heero was charming, funny in a quiet, deeply sarcastic way that Trowa loved and by the end of the night Trowa was the one who seemed to fit perfectly with Heero, at least according to Duo. They had stayed up for hours after leaving Heero, pacing and fighting and finally sleeping in separate beds for days before Duo finally came back to their bed, claiming that the guest bed pillows were too hard.  
They hadn’t spoken about Heero since that night, since the fight where they accused each other of boredom and wandering lust, and while Trowa knew that they likely would discuss Heero again since he had accepted a position at MLG, he wasn’t eager to do it anytime soon.  
He also wasn’t eager to see him again, and every day he walked past that corner office and saw it empty he was able to sigh in relief. He knew Heero was an excellent lawyer and would be an amazing asset to MLG, but Trowa had absolutely no idea how the three of them would be able to sit in a room together and not think about how perfect that one night had been.  
Of course, it clearly didn’t matter what Trowa wanted.  
As he walked out to the pool he spotted the lean, wiry body that had haunted his dreams for months.  
Heero Yuy was standing on the edge of the pool, stretching.  
Trowa swallowed hard and forced his gaze up, away from the sight of Heero’s perfect ass, showcased criminally well by his black jammers, away from his golden skin, his trim waist and his strong shoulders, away from his wild, dark hair as it disappeared under a swim cap.  
Heero turned, his blue eyes widening in brief surprise at the sight of Trowa and then darkening with pleasure and lust as they looked over his half naked body.  
Trowa felt his mouth go dry and he pulled on his own swim cap and looked away.  
Fuck. Heero was beautiful. His body as sculpted as any classical work of art and his dark blue eyes were practically electric.  
Heero walked over to him and Trowa fought back the childish instinct to run away.  
“Is Duo here too?” Heero asked.  
Trowa shook his head.  
“No. He’s a runner and he likes to exercise alone.”  
That seemed to surprise Heero.  
“Seems a shame to waste this gym membership,” Heero said, referring to the $12,000 annual membership fees that MLG paid.  
Trowa had to smirk.  
“Oh, it’s not wasted. He gave it to Bowen - a guy in IT, who now more or less worships the ground Duo walks on.”  
Heero nodded.  
“It seems like there are a lot of people who feel that way about him.”  
Trowa shrugged.  
“Duo’s an easy guy to like, and he takes the time to be kind to people.”  
Heero nodded again and Trowa sighed. He was being ridiculous.  
“I suppose this means you’ll be starting work with us soon?”  
“Today, actually,” Heero said and smirked slightly. “It would have been sooner but I was… punished for leaving.”  
He didn’t elaborate, and even though Trowa was curious, he didn’t ask.  
Heero gestured to the water.  
“What’s your normal workout?”  
“6000 yard freestyle ladder.”  
“Every day?”  
“No, every other. I do cardio on Tuesdays and Thursdays.”  
Heero nodded.  
“Sounds good.”  
Trowa felt like he had missed something, but before he could ask what Heero was talking about, the other man approached the edge of the pool.  
“Ready?”  
Heero arched an eyebrow at him and Trowa realized that Heero had just given his workout approval and fully intended to join him.  
Trowa pulled on his goggles.  
“Sure.”  
Without speaking, they dove into the water and for the next two hours Trowa pushed himself - trying desperately to focus on his body, the water, anything but the sleek body in the lane next to him.  
They didn’t speak, didn’t pause, didn’t acknowledge each other in any way until they finally hauled themselves out of the water.  
When they did, Heero smirked at him, breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling and his abdominal muscles flexing with the effort and Trowa angrily, painfully ripped off his swim cap and his goggles.  
What the hell was wrong with him?  
“That was good,” Heero said and followed him away from the pool, all the way to the hot tub in the locker rooms and he sat down across from Trowa, their feet and knees bumping together.  
Trowa had to nod. As furious with himself as he was, he had to admit that it had been a great workout. He knew his times had been good, his form even better than normal - and that had everything to do with the fact that Heero Yuy had been his lane partner.  
“I don’t normally work out with anyone,” Trowa felt the need to say.  
Early on in their relationship, Trowa had tried to run with Duo - he didn’t particularly enjoy running, but he was willing to try it out if it meant more time spent with the long haired man of his dreams. Duo, however, wasn’t used to a running partner and he didn’t seem to want one - he set a hard pace and whenever Trowa did keep even with him, Duo would just run faster, as though it was some competition or he simply needed to be free of Trowa’s presence. After three attempts, Trowa had given up and returned to his normal workout routine of swimming and cardio.  
“It’s better than working out alone,” Heero said.  
Trowa arched an eyebrow, he had pegged Heero for the independent, anti-social type.  
“There was a senior partner at Z&P that I used to work out with,” Heero offered and then shrugged. “It was a lot more competitive than this was, and the view wasn’t nearly as good.” He said the last with yet another smirk and Trowa had to shake his head.  
Heero Yuy was damned confident and too damned sexy.  
Trowa got out of the hot tub after only a few minutes and grabbed a towel on his way to the showers.  
Heero, not at all surprisingly, fell into step beside him.  
For the first time ever, Trowa resented the private showers at La Palestra and fondly wished for the gang showers of the YMCA he had swam at as an associate. There he would have had the chance to admire Heero’s naked body under the hot water.  
Here, Trowa had to content himself with the memory of Heero’s body and the knowledge that he was naked in the stall next to him.  
He wished they had taken the time to shower or bathe together that night. The hotel room had had an enormous bathtub, even bigger than the one at their apartment, and the three of them could have easily drowned in it. He would have loved to feel Heero’s slick body, his powerful thighs and his -  
Trowa abruptly realized he was stroking himself, hand tight on his hard cock and he felt like a guilty teenager.  
That only lasted for a moment, until the full weight of his treacherous thoughts hit him and he thought of Duo.  
He scrubbed his body with clinical detachment, cranking the water temperature low and shivering under the icy spray.  
And of course Heero was there, towel wrapped low on his slim hips and his biceps flexing as he dried his hair with another towel, when Trowa stepped out of his shower.  
He swallowed hard and looked away.  
This was ridiculous. He had seen gorgeous, half naked men before who weren’t his husband and he had been able to look away. He had been able to compare them to Duo, to his teasing smirk and his eyes and his sexy laugh and the way his entire body seemed to melt when he reached orgasm.  
But forcing himself to think about Duo only made him think about Heero more - because Heero’s face was so intense during sex, his firm body so powerful and his mouth felt so incredible wrapped around Trowa’s cock.  
Trowa walked past Heero and towards his locker. This had to stop.  
“Is there anyone I should look out for at work?” Heero asked, stopping in front of the lockers across from Trowa.  
Trowa looked over, a mistake, since Heero had pulled off his towel and was in the process of putting on black boxer briefs that looked exactly like the pair he had worn that night. His cock, soft and nestled against dark curls, was incredibly distracting.  
“Trowa?”  
He looked up at Heero’s amused expression, and felt like a complete moron.  
Heero pulled the briefs up.  
“Sorry, what?”  
Heero actually chuckled. It should have made Trowa furious, should have embarrassed him further, but instead he found himself sighing and smirking.  
“I asked if you had any advice for me. On the people at MLG.”  
“Oh. Right. You don’t need to look out for anyone. Well, not with Relena in England,” he smirked again at the look of pain that crossed Heero’s face at the mention of her name, “and Treize Khushrenada seems content to stay over there as well. Everyone else is - they’re great at their jobs and for the most part decent human beings. You should make an effort to stay on the good sides of Stacey, Bowen, Gina - she’s your secretary - Vandy, Bill and Mackenzie.”  
“Who are all of those people? Bowen is the IT guy?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Stacey, Bill and Mackenzie are the best paralegals - Stacey, by far, is the best, but Bill and Mac know their stuff. And you met Vandy.”  
“Why do I have to stay on his good side?”  
“His uncle is the head of HR - trust me when I say that the road to Senior Partner is littered with the corpses of Junior Partners who treated Vandy like shit.”  
“What do I need to do to stay on their good side?”  
Trowa considered the question, considered the information he and Duo had spent years accumulating - and he sighed again.  
“Get dressed. I’ll take you shopping.”  
Heero arched a questioning eyebrow.  
“Trust me. Start off treating them right and you won’t regret it.”  
Trowa looked at his cellphone and bit back a curse as he looked at his calendar.  
Now he knew why he had felt this day would be terrible - he was scheduled to meet Duo and Helen, Duo’s mother, for lunch.  
He bit back a curse, wishing Duo had reminded him that morning but knowing that it was his own fault for forgetting. If he had known, he would have worn one of the ties she had bought him over the years.  
With a sigh he dressed in a suit he remembered her saying she didn’t care for much - she thought navy didn’t suit him as well as it did Duo.  
After he had dressed he grabbed his brush and hair gel and styled his hair. Duo called it his “Sex Me, Your Honor” hair. Trowa normally let his long bangs fall forward, usually covering almost one of his eyes, but on days when he had to appear in court he took the time to style it, brushing it back into a pompadour that left his face uncomfortably open.  
Duo claimed that Trowa won half of his court cases with his hairstyle alone - he teased him constantly about being so sexy he distracted everyone from the judge to the jury to the opposing counsel to the bailiff.  
Heero’s eyes narrowed.  
“Why don’t you wear your hair like that all of the time?”  
“Wouldn’t be fair to you mere mortals,” Trowa said and Heero chuckled. “It’s my court hair.”  
“You’re distractingly sexy with your hair in your face,” he said, “but this… I’m glad I never had to face you in court.”  
Trowa rolled his eyes.  
“You’re Heero Yuy. You would have been fine. Even I can’t be that much of a distraction for you.”  
“You’d be surprised,” Heero muttered, heat in his eyes and Trowa had to look away.  
“It’s almost nine. I have a lunch date at eleven-thirty. We should be able to get this done before then.”  
Heero fell into step beside him as they left the locker room.  
“Lunch date?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Duo. And his mother.”  
Heero’s lips twitched.  
“I take it she doesn’t approve?”  
“Approve?”  
“The way you said it - does she not approve of his sexuality?”  
Trowa had to laugh.  
“Helen knew Duo was gay at least five years before he did. No, she approves of that.”  
“She doesn’t approve of you?” Heero sounded shocked.  
Trowa flagged down a cab and instructed the driver to take them to Bendel’s.  
“I’m not a doctor, a politician or the prince of Denmark.” Trowa sighed. “She’s learned to accept me, and honestly, I think every man short of - maybe - Jesus isn’t good enough for Duo in her mind.”  
“Why the maybe?”  
Trowa smirked at him.  
“She thinks he was a bit of a prude and probably wouldn’t have been very good in the sack.”  
Heero chuckled.  
“We get along - and we’ve had years to practice being nice to each other in front of Duo - but I can’t say that I ever look forward to these luncheons.”  
“How often do you see her?”  
Trowa shrugged.  
“We do lunch every few months, New Year’s, her birthday, she comes out to our house on the Cape for a few days in the summer.” He sighed. “It’s not that often, and she loves Duo - and she understands that I love him too.”  
They arrived at Bendel’s and Trowa put all thoughts of Helen at the back of his mind.  
“Gina – your new secretary – is crazy about her dog,” Trowa told Heero as they walked into the boutique.  
“Then why are we at Bendel’s?” Heero asked, a look of disdain and mild alarm on his face as he sniffed the air.  
“Because she’s also crazy about designer accessories,” Trowa told him and picked up a rhinestone dog collar and handed it to Heero.  
The other man regarded it and Trowa skeptically.  
Trowa shrugged.  
“You don’t have to do it. I wouldn’t have bothered with any of this over the last five years if not for Duo. He figures that while yes, their job is to do their job well, everyone will do their job better if they know you care about them.”  
Heero looked at the price tag on the collar and sighed.  
“Fine.”  
Trowa scrolled through his list as Heero paid for the exorbitant dog collar and arranged to have it delivered to the office.  
“Florist next,” Trowa told him and led the way out of the store and they climbed into a cab and headed to Belle Fleur.  
“I appreciate this,” Heero said as they sat in the cab, waiting for traffic to move.  
Trowa shrugged.  
“It’s not a big deal.”  
“All the same. This is… not the way I was treated by colleagues at Z&P.”  
Trowa sneered.  
“Well, we’re Satan’s spawn at MLG, so I’m sure that accounts for the difference.”  
Heero chuckled.  
“So that’s how you’ve thought of me all this time?”  
“Don’t flatter yourself – I didn’t think of you at all.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“Well, obviously, I did – but only because of that night. I didn’t know who you were.”  
“Would it have made a difference?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Yes. Duo’s rule was that we didn’t get to know ‘him’ – it was supposed to be a one night stand and neither of us wanted to complicate things.”  
“What was your rule?”  
“No talking.” Trowa shook his head. “I didn’t want to think about Duo’s voice and some stranger – his voice is one of the things I love the most about him.”  
Heero nodded, seeming to understand.  
“I’m sorry to have complicated things.”  
Trowa looked over at him.  
“You aren’t sorry in the least.”  
Heero smirked.  
“No, I’m not really.”  
They arrived at Belle Fleur and Trowa consulted his notes again.  
“MacKenzie likes roses – but she hates yellow. Bill prefers orchids. Stacey prefers anything exotic.”  
Heero frowned.  
“You said she was the best of the paralegals?”  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
“Shouldn’t I get her something… more…permanent?”  
Trowa smirked. As first year associates he and Duo had spent seven months trying to figure out what perfume Stacey wore so that they could buy some for her as a gift. Duo had filched one of her scarves and gone to every high end perfume counter in the City and a few in Paris before they finally found the right perfume in London. Stacey had accepted it with a sigh and patted them on the head, as though they were cute but stupid children. She had instructed them to stick with flowers in the future.  
“Stacey likes expensive gifts that are like men – the moment they start to wilt she throws them out.”  
Heero’s lips twitched.  
“I see.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“She likes to be appreciated, but she doesn’t want to feel that she owes you anything.”  
Heero nodded.  
“I understand. Does she have a color preference?”  
Trowa shook his head.  
“Just not orange.”  
Heero sighed but started to look through the pre-made arrangements. Trowa trailed behind him.  
“What about Duo?”  
“Does he dislike orange? No, he doesn’t like it much either, though,” Trowa said, thrown off by the non-sequiter.  
“I meant, does he like flowers?”  
“Oh. No. They remind him of funerals, and he doesn’t like things that are temporary.”  
Heero nodded, seeming to file that information away.  
“And you?”  
“Me?”  
“Do you like flowers?” Heero asked.  
“Yes,” Trowa answered cautiously, hoping that Heero didn’t plan on actually buying any for him.  
“Any preferences?”  
“Yes,” Trowa responded vaguely. He could only imagine what Duo’s reaction would be if Heero gave him flowers.  
But Heero just nodded, as if Trowa had given him the answer he wanted, and selected flowers for Stacey and MacKenzie and an orchid for Bill.  
“Two more stops,” Trowa told Heero once he had paid for and arranged the delivery of the flowers.  
Trowa took him to Martinez Cigar store for Vandy – who didn’t smoke cigars but loved to give them to his uncle Lou – and then to A.C. Gears to get something for Bowen. The IT guy didn’t trust anyone to pick out gifts for him, so he instead sent over an updated wish list every week to A.C. Gears so that anyone at MLG who wanted to curry favor with him would know what to get him.  
By the time they were finished shopping and had arranged to have everything delivered to the office it was eleven, and by the time they made it to the office it was eleven thirty.  
Duo hadn’t texted him to ask where he was, which meant that - hopefully – lunch had been cancelled or Trowa had the date wrong – or that Duo was pissed enough that he had decided not to wait.  
But, as they walked down the hallway towards Trowa’s office he saw Duo and Helen in Duo’s office, Duo perched on the edge of his desk and explaining some story with broad hand gestures while Helen sat primly in a Chanel suit in one of the armchairs in front of him.  
Trowa sighed.  
“Introduce me,” Heero said.  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“Why?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“Parents love me. Plus, I made you late.”  
Trowa debated it, but Duo looked up and spotted them. His smile faltered for a moment, but then he grinned broadly and stood up, gesturing towards them, and Helen stood.  
“Sure,” Trowa said and led the way.  
Helen was the epitome of well-preserved beauty. She was sixty, but she looked at least a decade younger and her silver-blonde hair was cut into a bob that accentuated her features. Her physique was trim, her clothes conservative and expensive, and her jewelry – purchased by Duo for her birthdays and Christmases ever since his father and brother had died when he was ten – was immaculate.  
Trowa had seen photographs of Helen proudly wearing department store jewelry that Duo, as a teenager, had worked his ass off to buy her. He had had two jobs growing up – working the stockroom at a grocery store and bussing tables at a bar – and he had used the money to help pay for his education and to try to take care of his mother. They had never been poor, even after Duo’s father had died they had lived a comfortable, middle class life. But Duo had always tried to take care of his mother, to make sure that she lived the life he felt she deserved.  
Helen regarded Trowa with an arched eyebrow, taking in his suit with narrowed eyes.  
“Helen.” He stepped forward and kissed the air near her right cheek.  
“Trowa. You are looking well.” She looked towards Heero, smiled broadly and held out her hand. “And you must be Heero Yuy. I’ve heard ever so much about you.”  
“Mother,” Duo warned, but Heero shook her hand and even smiled slightly.  
“I hope it’s all good things – your son and his husband are some of the best lawyers in the country and I’m going to have to work very hard to keep up with them.”  
Helen looked at Duo fondly.  
“Yes, Duo has always been an over-achiever.”  
“Trowa too,” Duo added.  
“Mhm.” Helen said noncommittally. “Are you joining us for lunch today, Heero?”  
Duo looked over at Trowa, a slightly panicked expression on his face. It was the exact opposite of the relief Trowa felt at her question – Helen was clearly in top form today and he wouldn’t mind having Heero there to take the brunt of her attention. But Duo’s expression clearly said that he did not want a guest.  
“I’m afraid not,” Heero said and sounded genuinely disappointed. “It’s my first day and I need to get settled in. Perhaps next time?”  
Helen nodded.  
“I will certainly hold you to that.”  
Heero started to walk towards his office and Trowa fought down the desire to retreat with him.  
Heero looked over his shoulder and caught his eye. He smirked slightly, amused and sympathetic, and Trowa appreciated that at least.  
When he turned back to Duo, however, he found his husband regarding him with narrowed eyes.  
Trowa looked at Helen.  
“Are we taking you to the Waldorf today?”  
She looked between them, picking up on the tension.  
“Of course we are,” Duo said and stepped forward to take his mother’s arm and escort her out of the office.  
Trowa took a moment to set down his gym bag and his briefcase in his office and then caught up with them at the elevator.  
“I’m so happy Heero Yuy is working with you, Duo,” Helen said as they stepped into the elevator.  
“Mother,” Duo sounded exasperated.  
“You know how I’ve always felt about him. It was always such a disappointment to me when you –“  
“Mother. We’ve been over this already. Several times.”  
There was a note of anger in Duo’s voice, which was unusual – he never seemed to be upset with his mother, even when she was treated Trowa horribly.  
He wondered just what Helen was talking about and why Duo seemed so upset about it.  
But when he looked at Duo over Helen’s head, there were no answers on his face or in his eyes. He seemed just as frustrated with Trowa as he was with his mother.  
-o-  
It was eight by the time Trowa made it home.  
When he walked into the apartment he could smell something amazing and he sighed happily.  
Duo was clearly still upset with him, but at least he was still willing to make Trowa’s favorite meal, dry-rub pork tenderloin.  
He walked into the kitchen, Duo’s domain and the main reason they had purchased this apartment in the first place, and saw Duo dressed in shorts, a t-shirt and an apron.  
Trowa set down his bags and approached Duo from behind, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing the side of his neck.  
“It smells amazing,” he said. “Thank you.”  
“Don’t worry about it. I always make this for you after you suffer through lunch with my mother.”  
Duo wiggled free and started to plate the meal – the pork, fresh sautéed green beans and mashed potatoes.  
Trowa sighed happily. The torture of lunch was almost worth it, for the sake of this meal.  
“How was court?” Duo asked.  
Trowa shrugged.  
“Fine. It’s not a complicated case – Mueller is the opposing council, so I’m tempted to just let one of the associates take over but…”  
“But you enjoy making him lose too much,” Duo finished for him, smirking slightly.  
Trowa nodded in agreement and poured each of them a glass of wine.  
He helped Duo set the dining room table and then sat down to eat.  
After his first bite he closed his eyes and sighed happily.  
“Thank you,” he said again.  
“Stacey was pleased with the flowers Heero gave her,” Duo said after a few moments of eating in silence.  
“Good,” Trowa said. “It took him almost twenty minutes to pick them out.”  
“They were from Belle Fleur,” Duo continued and his tone clued Trowa into the fact that this conversation was not going to end well.  
“Stacey always preferred their arrangements,” Trowa said.  
Duo nodded.  
“I know. It took us years to figure that out.”  
“You’re angry that I told Heero about Belle Fleur?”  
Duo shrugged.  
“Belle Fleur, Martinez, A.C. Gears, Bendel’s…”  
“What was I supposed to do? Tell him to go to Macy’s?”  
“Why not?” The question was surprisingly open question, without any malice.  
Trowa considered. Why not indeed?  
“Perhaps I should have,” he allowed. “If he was any other Junior Partner I would have.”  
“But he sucked your cock so you wanted to be nice to him,” Duo said.  
Trowa sighed and set down his fork.  
“That wasn’t why.”  
“Oh?”  
“I like him. He’s… a friend.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Really? You two been hanging out all this time?”  
“No. Of course not. We worked out together this morning – and we both enjoyed his company before,” Trowa added, referencing the night of their anniversary and the night only a few weeks ago when they had taken Heero out.  
Duo was clenching his jaw hard enough that a muscle jumped.  
“You worked out with him?”  
“His membership kicked in, it was a random coincidence – but it was nice to be able to work out with someone.”  
Duo nodded.  
“Sure. I get that.”  
“And what the hell was your mother talking about today? About Heero?”  
Duo shook his head.  
“It was nothing. It doesn’t matter.”  
That made Trowa arch an eyebrow. There was very little they didn’t tell each other, and the fact that Duo was trying to avoid telling him this only made him more curious.  
“Tell me.”  
Duo sighed and fidgeted with his wine glass.  
That was a very bad sign.  
“When we first moved in together… you know she wasn’t your biggest fan.”  
“She still isn’t my biggest fan,” Trowa muttered.  
“She just – she likes you, Tro.”  
“But she doesn’t think I’m good enough for you.”  
Duo gave him a look.  
“She’s wrong about that. We both know that.”  
Duo looked sincere, and Trowa was grateful for that. He could sense another fight brewing and he knew that Duo would likely be sleeping in the guest room again tonight, but at least he still took Trowa’s side over his mother’s.  
“What was she talking about today?” Trowa prompted him again when it was clear Duo had no intention of elaborating.  
“It was – when we moved in and I told her I thought you were, you know, the one for me, she sort of… compiled a list of eligible bachelors she thought I should date instead of you.”  
Trowa could only stare at him.  
“You never told me about this.”  
Duo gave him a look.  
“What the hell would I have said? Hey Tro, love the new apartment and I’m certain you’re the love of my life but my mother wants me to go out on blind dates with the Fortune 500 – do you mind?”  
“Duo, this isn’t a joke. Your mother – wait. Heero was on that list?”  
Duo sighed.  
“Yeah. He was on the list. So were like twelve other guys you know and –“  
“Are you serious? Who else?”  
Duo glared at him.  
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want anyone on that damn list. I want you.”  
“Do you?” Trowa had to ask, thinking back over the last two weeks. “Do you want me – do you still want this – us?”  
“Of course I do!”  
“Duo. We haven’t had sex since before we took Heero out.”  
“I was out of town last weekend and we’ve been busy as hell –“  
“You don’t want to have sex with me. Is it because I’m not Heero?”  
“No! It’s because I’m not Heero and you clearly wish I was –“  
“I absolutely do not wish you were him,” Trowa assured Duo. “I want you.”  
“Just me?” Duo asked, and it brought Trowa up short.  
He swallowed hard.  
“And you?” he asked. “Do you want just me?”  
Duo stared at him, reluctant to answer.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Two

Everyone liked Heero, and the fact that Duo had spent the last month avoiding him had finally been noticed by someone other than Trowa and Allison, Duo’s secretary.  
Duo had gone out of his way to avoid the new Junior Partner - he even skipped the catered Friday lunches that he had enjoyed for years - and he turned down every one of Vandy’s attempts to gather the “boys” together to go out drinking. Although, in all fairness, that had less to do with the prospect of Heero being there and more to do with Vandy’s presence.  
He knew that Trowa and Heero worked out together, every morning and every time they walked into the office together, smirking or talking or just comfortably silent, he resented Heero a little bit more.  
Duo knew Trowa enjoyed those mornings spent with Heero - Duo had never been comfortable working out with anyone, even Trowa, who seemed to thrive with Heero’s company in the gym - but Duo wasn’t entirely sure how much more of this he could take.  
He could see them getting closer, could see the way Trowa leaned in to Heero and the lust in Heero’s eyes and he knew this was a losing battle, but he had no idea what to do about it.   
Duo found Heero attractive - he would have to be blind not to - and he had definitely enjoyed their crazy night of sex, and had had a hell of a lot of fun showing Heero the town that night six weeks ago. But that didn’t mean he wanted him to become a permanent fixture in his and Trowa’s lives. He didn’t want to be in a threesome. He didn’t want to share Trowa with Heero - with anyone.   
But he also didn’t want to become possessive and jealous, so he found himself avoiding Trowa too, putting distance between them at home and at work and he felt alone and deeply unsettled. He had no idea where to go from here, no plan for the future, and no real idea of what he even wanted anymore.  
When Thomas Darlian called Duo into his office, he half expected a tongue lashing from his boss. Darlian had made it clear that he valued Heero and he wanted him happy - and he had expected Duo to show him the ropes, to make him happy and keep him that way. Duo had no doubt that by this point Darlian had noticed that Duo didn’t speak to Heero at all.  
But when Duo walked into Darlian’s office he saw Heero Yuy sitting on the couch and he bit back a curse.  
Had Heero tattled on him? Complained about Duo not being a team player?   
But no - Heero didn’t seem like the type, and the look of polite neutrality on his face didn’t seem to indicate that he knew what this meeting was about anymore than Duo did.  
“Duo!” Darlian smiled broadly and Duo was instantly on edge.  
That smile had been the same expression Darlian had worn when he told Duo he was promoting Relena to senior partner. It was also the expression he wore whenever he forced Duo to take cases Duo didn’t want.  
Shit. No good could come from this.  
“Please, sit.”  
Duo gingerly sat on the opposite end of the couch from Heero, the only seat that meant he didn’t have to look directly at him. It was distracting enough to remember what Heero looked like naked - having to stare at the way he filled out a charcoal suit was more than Duo could handle.   
“So. Duo, you remember the Youth Services International case?”  
“Yes,” Duo said cautiously.  
YSI was a national, private juvenile detention organization. Duo had come across several former and current incarcerated boys and their parents, who had wanted to start a class action lawsuit. Duo had brought it to Darlian, who had assigned the case to Relena after she had pitched a fit. It had been one of the few times Duo had considered quitting MLG. He had worked his ass off to get the case for them and it was something he felt very strongly about - he had resented Relena and the way she had played her father ever since.  
“The trial starts in two weeks and Relena, as you are aware, is in London and can no longer serve as council.”  
Duo tried not to look too enthusiastic. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that Relena’s cases would be impacted by her absence like this.  
Then he looked over at Heero and had to frown. Why the hell was he here?  
“Zechs Merquise has been hired to represent YSI,” Darlian said, looking at Heero as well.  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“I wasn’t aware,” he said.  
Darlian nodded.  
“Yes, and you know how he thinks. I know he was your mentor at Z&P.”  
Heero’s lips turned downwards for a moment but then he nodded.  
“Yes. In a manner of speaking.”  
“Good. Because I need you on this case, with Duo.”  
“Thomas, I can handle Merquise on my own,” Duo said, the thought of having to work with Heero driving him close to insubordination.  
“Perhaps, but Heero knows how he works and this is a very important case - it’s going to attract national coverage. I want Heero involved.”  
Duo nodded. Heero was Darlian’s big draw, it seemed - the ace he had stolen away from Z&P. Duo wasn’t used to feeling second best and he fought back his anger.   
At least he was on the case.  
“So you want me to brief Heero on the case?” Duo guessed. He tried to sound neutral but enough of his disappointment must have come through because Heero frowned at him.  
“No. Duo, you’re lead council on this.”  
“Oh.”   
“Duo, this case is the kind of thing that secures a promotion to Senior Partner,” Darlian continued. “I want you and Heero on the front page of the New York Times so that I can shove it down Tsubarov’s throat at our next golf game - I want him to see that I’ve got the best team in New York.”  
Duo frowned at that. He and Trowa had only ever had the chance to work together on a few cases, but they had been a great team. Duo wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of he and Heero being the best team in New York.  
“Gina and Allison have copies of the case for you - take the day to familiarize yourself and come up with a gameplan. I want to hear it first thing tomorrow.”  
Duo resisted the urge to check his watch. It had been four thirty when Darlian called him in - he was sure that it was nearly five by now.  
“Will do,” Duo said and stood.  
Heero followed him out of the office.  
“You and Trowa had plans tonight, didn’t you?” Heero asked as they walked away from the office.  
“What?”  
“Trowa said you two were going out tonight? Some concert?”  
“Oh shit.” Trowa had been looking forward to this for months - the New York Philharmonic had a Beethoven Piano Concertos concert and Duo had had to trade several favors to get them seats for tonight’s performance.   
While Duo was not the classical music aficionado that Trowa was, he had actually been looking forward to tonight - Trowa looked incredible in a tux and he was always horny as hell after classical music and ready to reward Duo for sitting through the torture of a concert he didn’t care about. Things had been strained enough between them that this night had been Duo’s one hope of getting them back on track - but now he was going to have to cancel those plans and spend the night with Heero.  
He sighed, and then he scowled.  
How much did Trowa and Heero talk? He could imagine that Trowa appreciated the workout company, but he wasn’t chatty at the best of times. Were they spending time together outside of the gym?  
As they approached Duo and Trowa’s offices Duo spotted Trowa packing up his work for the night.  
“I’ll grab the files from Gina. Do you want to meet in my office or yours?” Heero asked him, clearly giving him a few minutes alone with Trowa.  
Duo appreciated that, but he was also annoyed at the thoughtfulness.  
“Yours is bigger,” Duo pointed out.  
“Yours has better chairs,” Heero argued.  
Duo smirked.  
“That it does. Bring some coffee with you. We can call in take out in a few hours… but this is going to be a very late night.”  
Heero nodded and then walked away, down the hall towards his office, leaving Duo alone to disappoint Trowa yet again.  
“Hey.” He leaned against Trowa’s open door.  
Trowa looked up and smiled, just slightly, and Duo felt like a complete asshole. Things had been so damned awkward between them, but Trowa was clearly trying to - to do something to keep this from becoming a complete disaster.  
“Ready to go? We should have plenty of time to run home and change and grab -”  
“I can’t.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow, the smile leaving his face.  
“Darlian just assigned the Youth Services International case to Heero and I. He wants a game plan by tomorrow morning.”  
Trowa nodded, taking it in stride. He set his bags down.  
“I’ll pull up the research and -”  
“No,” Duo interrupted him and shook his head. Over the years, whenever he or Trowa had had to pull an all-nighter they had always stayed and helped each other out. But Duo didn’t want that, not tonight, not with Heero.   
Part of him was confident that the three of them would be able to tackle this case with ease, but a larger part of him was convinced that Trowa and Heero would just become even closer, would bond together and start finishing each other’s sentences and Duo absolutely could not handle feeling like more of an outsider than he already did.  
“You should still go to the concert. You’ve been looking forward to this.”  
“I’ve been looking forward to going to it with you,” Trowa corrected. “If you can’t go, there’s no -”  
“Trowa. Go. Enjoy yourself. You know I don’t care about the music anyway - this way you don’t have to worry about me sitting there beside you fidgeting all night.”  
Trowa frowned and Duo sensed he had said the wrong thing, but he didn’t know what it was.   
Duo sighed.  
“Trowa, I don’t -”  
“Don’t worry about it, Duo,” Trowa said, his voice tired and his eyes sad.  
Duo swallowed hard. He hated fighting with Trowa, hated even more the way that he always felt in the wrong, as though he was the cause of Trowa’s pain and anger and frustration and he knew that in this case he was, to an extent. He wished Trowa would just come out and say it - would just fight back instead of telling him not to worry and looking like Duo had just kicked a puppy.  
“If I don’t see you at home I’ll bring an extra suit in for you tomorrow,” Trowa said and picked up his bags again. “And don’t get Chinese for dinner - you know you always regret it four hours after you eat it.”  
“Tro -”  
“Duo. It’s fine.” Trowa kissed him on the lips, his mouth closed and it was practically platonic.   
Duo watched him leave and had to fight back the urge to run after him, to push him against the wall and kiss him until Trowa dropped his bags and clutched Duo against his body.   
It had been months since they had kissed like that, and Duo was starting to wonder if they had irrevocably broken their marriage.  
“Everything ok?”  
Heero stood in the doorway, case files tucked under his arms and two coffee mugs in his hands.  
“Yeah. Just fucking dandy,” Duo snapped and then sighed and shook his head. “No. It’s not but it’s nothing - nothing to do with this case. Thanks.” He took one of the mugs from Heero and led the way out of Trowa’s office, closing the door behind him.  
Duo had arranged his office so that two chairs were across from his desk, but had also set up two arm chairs and a coffee table by the windows. He and Trowa ate lunch there together often, and it was where Duo usually liked to work if he had an intern or an associate helping him.  
Heero sat down in the chair that Trowa usually occupied and started to spread out the case information.  
With a sigh, Duo told himself to get his head out of his ass and focus.  
He picked up the file that Allison had left on his desk and joined Heero.  
“How do you want to do this?” Heero asked, and Duo masked his surprise.   
“Um. Why don’t you take the witness statements and I’ll look over the research and the data?”  
Heero nodded in agreement and started to flip through the paperwork.  
Duo watched him, momentarily mesmerized by his long, elegant fingers.  
It reminded him of that night, of the way Heero had coated those fingers with lube and used them to prepare Duo, the feel of them entering him, pressing against his prostate and driving him to orgasm from that alone before even replacing his fingers with his cock.  
Duo drew in a deep breath and turned back to his work. Now was not the time to be thinking about Heero Yuy’s damned talented fingers. Never was the time to be thinking about them.

-o-

It was after ten when Georgetown walked by the open door of Duo’s office.  
“Oh - I didn’t realize you were still here,” she said and offered Heero a shy smile.  
Duo rolled his eyes.  
“We are,” he said.  
“Is there anything I can do to help?” She stepped into the office and Duo sighed in relief and reached for a highlighter. “I mean - have you eaten? I could get food for you?”  
Heero smirked at Duo’s scowl.  
“Sure,” Heero said and stood up.  
He had taken off his jacket hours ago and had rolled up the sleeves of his pale blue button up, and his forearms flexed as he pulled out his wallet and handed several twenty dollar bills to Georgetown.  
“Thai or Chinese?” She asked.  
“Thai please,” Duo said, remembering Trowa’s warning. “Chicken Pad Thai.”  
Heero held up two fingers and Georgetown scurried off.  
Duo sighed.  
“And here I was thinking we could actually put her to work,” he grumbled.  
Heero chuckled.  
“Your face - you were so hopeful when you reached for that highlighter.”  
Duo shook his head.  
“I should have known. Georgetown.”  
“Hm. Where are Yale and Harvard?” Heero mused.  
“That’s a good question,” Duo stood. He hadn’t even thought to call in the help of the interns before. “Let’s find them.”  
The cubicles were empty, but desk lights and half-empty coffee cups were on several desks, indicating that most of the interns were still somewhere in the office. The copy room, site of late night poker games back in Duo’s intern days, was empty except for NYU, who was actually asleep on top of one of the copy machines, clutching it like a blanket or teddy bear.   
Duo and Heero shared a smirk over that but left him.  
Yale and Harvard, as it turned out, were in the research library, half-naked and quickly working their way towards full nudity when Duo and Heero walked in.   
“Now they’ve got the right idea,” Heero murmured in Duo’s ear, his body close enough that all Duo needed to do was take a half step back to be pressed against him.  
Duo did take that step back, bumping into Heero and walking both of them out of the library before Yale and Harvard could notice them. He wasn’t quite sure why he didn’t want to interrupt their extracurricular activities - perhaps it had something to do with the way he and Trowa had spent their last night as interns together.  
“Do they?” Duo asked him once they were back in the hall and headed to his office again.  
“Of course I wouldn’t push you up against a shelf of legal documents. I’d probably go for the table.”  
Duo glared at him.  
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“Would you?”  
Duo considered that.  
“I probably wouldn’t have stepped into the elevator in the first place,” Duo admitted, referring to that night four months ago now.  
“Really?” Heero looked disbelieving.  
“Yeah. I mean - if it had been you and Trowa and me standing out there watching?” Duo shook his head. “No way I would have had the balls to get in there.”  
“Yet you decided to have a threesome with a complete stranger to celebrate your anniversary?”  
Duo sighed. They had arrived back at his office and he gestured for Heero to sit again.  
“Well, yeah.” He threw himself into his chair. “I’ve only been with three - well, now four - guys. Trowa is a lot more experienced than I am and it was… I don’t know, I guess it started as a running joke or a tease or something and then we just decided to do it.”  
“And now you regret it?”  
“Every damn day,” Duo bit out.   
Heero’s face betrayed the hurt he felt at Duo’s words and Duo actually felt guilty.  
“It’s not - hell, man, it’s not even your fault. I just… it was amazing - obviously. You know that. You were there. But now it’s… it’s out there. And seeing you every day at work - seeing you and Trowa walk into work together every day…” Duo realized he had say way too much.  
“It wasn’t my intention to ruin your life,” Heero said, and his words sounded almost rehearsed. “If I’d known you two were married… I still would have done it,” he admitted and shook his head. “Even now, if I had the chance to do it again, I would.”  
Duo sighed.  
“Yeah, that’s the problem - because you’re right here every damn day and I can’t even look at your fingers without remembering how they felt inside of me and I just want to -”  
“Food’s here!” Georgetown called out as she walked into the office.  
“Thanks,” Duo growled, earning a chuckle from Heero and a confused look from Georgetown before she scurried out.  
“You were saying something about what you wanted to do to me? Or maybe what you wanted me to do to you?” Heero prompted once they were alone again.  
Duo just stared at him.  
“How are you possibly this confident?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“It’s mostly a bluff, at least where you’re concerned. But at this point - what have I got to lose? I already spend every day thinking of reasons to walk by your office and Trowa’s office, just so I can look at you. I think of dozens of reasons to ask you out for drinks and I never do because I know I’ve made a mess of your lives and I don’t know how to fix that and the hell if I even want to. That night was the most incredible night of my life, Duo. And that night you and Trowa took me out - it was torture. Your cologne makes me hard. Hearing you or Trowa laugh reminds me of that night. Four months ago I was the best lawyer I knew and my entire life was on track - but then you chose me and I haven’t known what the hell I’m doing a single day since then.”  
Heero looked angry, his eyes wide and intense and a frown pulling his dark eyebrows together.  
Duo swallowed. He hadn’t really considered what this situation was like for Heero.  
“Heero -”  
The other man shook his head.  
“Don’t. You have the perfect life and I got this little taste of it. I’m just a greedy bastard who wants more.”  
It’s not perfect, Duo wanted to say. It hadn’t been - not since that night, and maybe, now that Duo started to really think about it, not even before then.   
Trowa was, beyond a doubt, the love of Duo’s life, his other half and the one man he wanted to grow old with. Except, after that night, after a month of working in the same office as Heero and hearing what a hard ass he was to the interns, how he actually took the time to talk to Vandy about the Rangers, seeing the way he made Trowa smile or even chuckle - after all of that it was hard to think that Duo and Trowa were perfect, were complete and whole. It was hard because Heero wasn’t the only one who had gotten a taste of something he wanted more of.  
It was four a.m. when they finally had a strategy, and it was a damn good one. As they walked to the elevator together, exhausted and a little manic because of it, Duo bumped his shoulder against Heero’s.  
“You’re pretty handy with a highlighter, Harvard.”  
Heero snorted.  
“You’ve got a way with a legal pad that’s going to keep me up at night, Yale,” he returned and Duo chuckled.  
“But seriously, I think we’ve got a good position on this - it’s not going to be an easy case but -”  
“It’s going to be a damn good one. I’m looking forward to seeing you in court,” Heero said. “Any chance you do something ridiculously sexy with your hair?”  
“What? Like Tro?” Duo shook his head and then sighed. “Nah, he’s got the market on Sex Me, Your Honor hair. I just wear my best three piece suit and look really, really handsome.”  
“How is that different than any other day?” Heero asked.  
Duo looked at him.  
“It’s four am, we both look and feel like shit and you still have the energy to try to flirt with me?”  
Heero smirked, the expression sleepy and Duo had to take a step backwards so that he didn’t give in to the urge to kiss him.  
Duo shook his head.  
“I’ll see you in five hours,” he said when they stepped out of the elevator on the ground floor.  
“I’m looking forward to it,” Heero said.  
“Yeah. Me too,” Duo admitted.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.

Luvsanime02 actually gave me the idea regarding Treize. So… when you get to that part you will understand.

Warnings: Angst, language, sex

Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement

Chapter Three

Heero stared out of the windows of his office and he wondered just how much force it would take to break them and hurl himself out of his office and onto the pavement below.

He hated himself for that thought, however fleeting, and he fingered the thin, faded scar on his wrist from his suicide attempt at the age of fifteen. This was not as bad as that, he reminded himself and drew in a deep breath, straightened his tie and buttoned his suit jacket.

As he opened the door of his office he could hear the low, distant hum of chatter and louder laughter breaking through.

You can do this, he firmly told himself and stepped out into the hall. He decided to take the long way to Darlian's office and he walked towards Duo and Trowa's offices.

He had expected them to be empty, but as he neared Trowa's office he looked through the open glass wall and saw Duo and Trowa, bodies silhouetted in the dark with only the lights from the city illuminating them.

Heero was brought up short.

Duo had Trowa pinned against the wall of his office, one hand wrapped around his head and the other braced against the wall by Trowa's waist. Trowa's hands were wrapped around Duo's waist, fingers clutching the fabric of his jacket tightly.

And they were kissing, Trowa's head angled down and Duo's tilted upwards to make up for the difference in their heights and Heero abruptly realized it was the first time he had seen them kiss.

He had expected to see this every day in the office - but six months after he had been hired, this was the first time he had actually seen them kiss.

Duo eased away slowly and Trowa tried to follow him, but finally allowed the kiss to end. They stared at each other in silence for a long moment until Trowa nodded. As he did so, he looked past Duo's head and spotted Heero in the hallway.

Duo saw that his attention had drifted and turned, catching sight of Heero as well.

Who now felt like a voyeur.

Duo arched an eyebrow.

"Avoiding the party?"

Heero gave him a look and Duo's lips tipped upwards, he turned back to Trowa.

"Now, Tro, why would Heero Yuy possibly avoid a birthday party for Thomas Darlian, who has worked so hard to make him happy here at MLG?"

One corner of Trowa's mouth lifted, but there was something about the expression, his face and his body language that spoke of tension and anxiety. Heero wondered what was going on.

"Maybe he doesn't like the cake?" Trowa hazarded.

"Hm. He does seem to have discerning tastes. Probably doesn't care for the champagne either?"

Trowa nodded in agreement.

"Very funny," Heero growled.

Duo stepped away from Trowa, though the other man was slow to release him, and Heero was again struck by the fact that something was clearly wrong. He saw Duo run his hand down Trowa's chest and give his tie a faint tug. It earned an equally faint smile from Trowa, but it seemed to calm him somehow. He stood up to his full height and straightened his clothes.

"Well, we can't all avoid the damn party or they'll send someone after us."

Heero frowned.

"Why are you two avoiding the parties?"

"Trowa's allergic to assholes," Duo mumbled.

Heero looked over at the green eyed man, but he wouldn't meet Heero's gaze. Something was definitely going on.

Over the last six months he and Trowa had spent nearly every weekday morning working out together, and while they didn't have thirty minute conversations, they still talked and Heero thought they had actually become close, despite all of the sexual tension they had to wade through every time they saw each other. Even with Duo, over the last two months as they worked together on the YSI case, Heero felt he was finally getting to know, finally earning the other man's respect and working past his enmity. But they were clearly both upset and both reluctant to say what - or who - had upset them.

Duo threw an arm around Heero's shoulders. He had started doing that recently too, and Heero found himself leaning into it some. It was silly, but he would take whatever comfort he could get - even if it was just a friendly, meaningless gesture on Duo's part.

"Heero, buddy, you should be looking forward to this. I mean, it's been what? Nine months since you last saw Relena? Just think of all the time she's had to plan out your dream future together. You know, since it's her Dad's birthday, she'll probably say that as her gift to him she'll make room for you in the London office and you two can -"

Heero stepped away from him and glared.

"Don't even joke about that."

Duo's lips twitched as he fought back a laugh at Heero's tone but then he nodded.

"Okay. Now, come on, we need to go smile and shake hands and think dark, homicidal thoughts for at least an hour before we can get the hell out of here."

Trowa drew in a deep breath and led the way, Heero and Duo falling into step behind him.

Heero looked at Duo and arched an eyebrow in question.

Duo looked prepared to say something, but then he frowned and shook his head.

Whatever the problem was, Heero still wasn't trusted or liked enough to know about it apparently. Unless, of course, he was the problem.

As they approached Darlian's office the sound of the party grew louder.

Duo nudged his shoulder against Heero's.

"It's going to be fine. I heard she's shacking up with some Duke or Baron or something over there these days - she's probably completely forgotten about you by now."

Heero gave him a look and Duo smirked.

"Okay. She probably hasn't forgotten about you, because you're damned impossible to forget, but she probably won't try to kidnap you or tie you up in the copy room and have her way with you."

"Thank you for that lovely mental image," Heero growled.

Duo slapped him on the back.

"Any time buddy." He drew in a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "And now it's time to go and shake hands with the scum of the earth, Treize Khushrenada."

Heero frowned. Duo and Trowa had mentioned Treize Khushrenada, the mysterious senior partner who managed the London branch of MLG, over the past few months, but always with disdain or anger. However, it had never approached the level of loathing Duo's voice now had.

Heero looked over the assembled group of lawyers and secretaries and wondered just who -

Standing beside Thomas Darlian, a champagne glass in one hand and a thin sneer on his face, was a man Heero had never thought to see again. Tall, fit, with short blonde hair and chiseled features - it was a body and a face that Heero had only seen once, one night years ago in Amsterdam.

The man laughed, throwing back his head and the sound of that laughter set Heero's teeth on edge. He remembered that laugh - remembered the way he had laughed that night.

The man's blue eyes landed on Heero and sharpened. The laughter left his face and a slow smirk spread across his lips.

Heero swallowed hard and tried to fight off the urge to just run away, but the man left Darlian's side and started towards him and Heero gave in, turning on his heel and walking away.

"Hey - Heero!"

He could hear Duo calling after him, but there was no way he was going to stop - no way he could be there and see him and who the hell was he and why was he here?

Memories of that night flooded Heero's brain and he barely made it to the men's room and a toilet before vomiting.

"Jesus. Heero - Trowa, hand me a wet towel."

He could feel hands - Duo's firm hands - pushing back his hair and holding his tie away from the toilet and he knew he should feel embarrassed, should push him away, but he couldn't.

Eventually Duo eased him back from the toilet, letting go of Heero's tie and pressing a warm, damp towel into his hands.

"Here, just, you know, you've got a bit on your mouth."

It was clear Duo was trying for levity, but there was concern in his voice and on his face.

One of Duo's hands was still in Heero's hair and Heero reached up to gently brush him away.

He tried to sit on the ground, but Duo dragged him up.

"No way. You're not going to sit down beside your vomit toilet. Get up. Sit on the sink counter if you have to."

He obediently followed Duo's order and left the stall and leaned against the sink counter, close to where Trowa stood looking at him with a concerned frown.

Duo flushed the toilet and then walked over. He put his hands on Heero's shoulders.

"Heero - what the hell just happened?"

"Who was that man? Beside Darlian?"

"That was Treize Khushrenada. We've told you about him."

Heero nodded.

"I know him. I met him ten years ago."

Duo arched an eyebrow.

"Okay...oh. Let me guess. He tried to proposition you and -"

"Duo," Trowa spoke up, his voice a quiet warning.

Duo looked over at him and sighed, then stepped back from Heero.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"He did proposition me," Heero said. He wiped his face with the towel and felt completely disgusting - physically and mentally. "I was in Amsterdam for a semester in college. My… boyfriend was Romanian and we - he -"

"Heero. It's fine. Just calm down."

"It's not fucking fine, Duo. My entire life is fucked!"

He hadn't meant to raise his voice, but he could hear it echo off the tile in the bathroom and Duo and Trowa shared looks of alarm.

Duo held his hands out, palms out, as though Heero were a wounded animal he was trying to soothe.

"Okay, let's just… talk this out. Your life isn't fucked, Heero. I promise."

Heero glared at him. Duo didn't even know, couldn't even comprehend just how disastrous one night had been for Heero.

"We pretended to be prostitutes. Treize paid us to have sex while he watched us."

Duo swallowed hard.

"Well, that sounds like something the bastard would do. But, Heero - that was ten years ago. In a different country and he probably doesn't even recognize you."

"He recognized me," Heero said, remembering the look in Treize's eyes. He sighed. "It wasn't just the sex. It was - we did a lot of cocaine, Quatre and I, and Treize watched that too - watched us do lines off each other's bodies and -"

"Did he do any? Did he offer you any?" Trowa asked, his voice clipped.

Heero swallowed hard and shook his head. He gave him a rueful smile.

"No. Of course not - that would be too easy."

"Fuck." Duo ran a hand through his hair. "It's not - Heero, it's none of my business but do you still do coke? Because the drug policy at MLG is pretty fucking strict and Tro and I aren't going to rat you out but -"

"No. I haven't touched it since Amsterdam. It's not - I only ever did it with Quatre."

Duo looked relieved.

"Okay, that's good. And we're still talking ten years ago. In a foreign country. Treize would have to implicate himself for solicitation to even bring this up with Darlian."

"Who said he would bring it up to Darlian?" Trowa asked, his voice low and angry. "You know him, Duo. He's going to try to manipulate Heero and -"

"Okay. Fuck. Fucking, fucking fuck."

Duo seemed furious, and it drew Heero out of his self-loathing.

"Duo. This isn't your problem."

Duo glared at him.

"Oh just fuck right off. Of course it is. I'm not going to let that bastard near either one of you so just - just calm down and let me think."

Heero looked over at Trowa and the other man met his eyes and sighed.

"Treize used to work here, before we opened the London office three years ago. When I was an associate he… suggested that the only way I would make Junior Partner would be if I sufficiently impressed him."

Heero didn't want to ask, but he wanted to know.

Trowa nodded.

"It was one time. I didn't - I couldn't - I had to." He finished and Heero could understand. Trowa, just out of law school and saddled with all of that debt, would have likely been fired if he took a sexual harassment complaint to a new employer. He would have been just as likely to lose his job if he had turned down Treize.

Heero looked over at Duo. He was pacing, one hand over his face.

Now that scene in Trowa's office made more sense.

"Okay," Duo came to a stop and looked at them, his features set in grim, determined lines. "We have to go out there and wish Thomas a Happy Birthday. We have to say hello to Treize - and Relena, though I imagine she is the least of your worries at this point - but then you two are going to be Vandy's best friends for the next hour. Then we can go and not look like rude assholes."

"What are you going to do? While we become Alex's best friends?"

"Well I'm sure as hell not going to hang out with you and Vandy," Duo muttered. He sighed. "I'll keep Treize occupied. God knows I'm not as sexy as either of you so I can't flirt with him, but the bastard never turns down a chance to make me feel like shit."

Heero opened his mouth to protest but Duo held up a hand.

"Shut up. This is the plan. Now, rinse out your mouth and let's get this over with."

He wanted to resent the way Duo had stepped up and was ordering him around, but Heero was frankly relieved. He was still convinced this was going to end in disaster - he could only imagine what Treize would try to do to him, how he would use the past against him, and he felt furious over the fact that Treize had forced himself on Trowa.

He looked over at the green eyed man, but his face was impossible to read.

"Hey." Duo spoke to Trowa. He stepped forward and kissed him on the mouth. "It's not going to happen again. Not to either of you. I got rid of him before, I sure as hell can do it again."

Duo looked over them, straightened Heero's tie, and nodded approval.

"Okay. Let's go."

Trowa and Heero trailed after Duo like scared ducklings, and he imagined that wasn't far off from how they both felt as they approached Thomas Darlian and Treize Khushrenada.

"Hey!" Duo greeted Darlian brightly, a smile plastered on his face. "Happy Birthday old man! Just think, this is just one year closer to your retirement and the day I get to take over!"

Darlian chuckled warmly as he shook Duo's hand.

"That's only if your husband or your new partner don't beat you to it!" Darlian said, looking at Trowa and Heero.

"Oh, nah, we've got a whole system worked out to share power." Duo waved a hand in dismissal and then turned to Treize. "Haven't seen you on this side of the pond if a few years, Treize."

The blonde man shrugged.

"I had some things to attend to and being here for Tom's birthday was an added bonus. And of course, I've been dying to meet this new Junior Partner he keeps raving about."

Treize focused on Heero.

"Yes!" Darlian jumped in. "Heero Yuy, Treize Khushrenada."

Heero drew in a deep breath and held out his hand.

Treize's fingers were slightly cool, long and firm and he caressed the inside of Heero's wrist and their hands shook.

"A pleasure to meet you, Heero," Treize murmured and the look in his eyes - the amusement, the knowledge, the lust - had Heero swallowing back bile.

He pulled his hand away, angry and just the slightest bit actually afraid when Treize momentarily refused to release him.

"And Trowa, you're looking well, as always," Treize smoothly turned his attention to his next target.

"Treize. Good to see you again."

Heero had never heard Trowa's voice sound like that and he hoped he never did again. The look of complete blankness on his face was also deeply unsettling.

Treize smirked, pleased with the reactions he had earned.

"Yeah, about seeing you again - I actually had a few questions about this case I'm working on, if you don't mind Thomas? Can I steal Treize for a few minutes?"

Treize looked shocked, but then his lips curved into a smile that made Heero's stomach turn.

"Of course," Darlian said and waved Duo and Treize away. He turned back to Trowa and Heero. "Thank you both for the birthday presents - very thoughtful and much appreciated. Now - go have some cake and champagne!"

Heero and Trowa walked away, but Heero had to look over his shoulder to where Duo and Treize were walking down the hall, towards Duo's office. He felt the urge to go after him.

"He'll be fine," Trowa said. "He's been doing this for years."

Trowa sounded dead and it pulled Heero out of his own depression.

"Trowa, it was -"

"Heero!"

That voice. That damn voice that had had him idly contemplating suicide all day.

He turned and there she was, dressed in a pink cocktail dress, wearing a pink diamond necklace and pink diamond studs and there was just so much damn pink.

"Relena," he greeted her, alarmed by the bright smile on her face.

"It's so good to see you! And here, in our firm!" She moved forward, arms open and clearly intent on hugging him, but Trowa stepped in front of Heero.

"Relena, I think your father was looking for you - he said something about the Paris deal isn't going well?"

The happiness immediately drained from Relena's face. She looked past Heero, towards her father, and then cursed softly before walking away.

Trowa offered Heero a slight smirk.

"Thank you," Heero said and sighed in relief. "How did you know - what Paris deal?"

Trowa shrugged.

"Allison - she knows everything and she mentioned something to Duo earlier today about it." Trowa sighed. "Come on. Let's go find Alex and let him numb our brains for the next half hour."

It was closer to an hour when Duo and Treize finally reappeared at the party. Treize walked in wearing a confident smirk and Duo looked ready to kill something. He walked over to Duo and Trowa, deep in conversation with Alex about the Rangers, and nodded a brief greeting at Alex before turning to them.

"Let's go."

Alex looked confused and more than a little hurt that Duo didn't want to talk to him, but Trowa and Heero instantly retreated, following Duo out of the party. Uncharacteristically, Duo ignored literally everyone and it wasn't until they were in the elevator, briefcases and gym bags at their feet, that he spoke again.

"I'm going to fucking bury that man," he muttered.

"Duo -"

"Don't you fucking dare apologize again, Trowa. It wasn't your fault and I don't - please. Stop apologizing for it."

Heero watched Trowa swallow hard and nod.

Duo sighed.

"I need to drink. A lot. It's Monday?"

Heero nodded.

"Good. PhD should be packed. You coming with us?"

It was the first invitation to spend time with them that Duo had issued since Heero came to work at MLG. He wished the circumstances were different - but in all honesty, he did not want to go home alone.

"Yes."

"Good. We can check our bags at the hotel desk."

Duo hailed a cab for them and as they waited he loosened and removed his tie and his suit jacket so that he was just wearing a his vest, lavender button up shirt, and trousers. He opened the first few buttons and he looked… incredible.

Heero saw Trowa staring at him as well, desire in his eyes, and Heero wondered if maybe he shouldn't back out after all.

But then a cab pulled up and Duo ushered them into the back seat. Heero found himself between them, pressed against Duo and Trowa's thighs and it reminded him of that night.

As Duo had predicted, the club was packed. Heero was glad that he had followed Duo and Trowa's leads and checked his jacket along with his brief case and gym bag at the concierge desk downstairs.

Duo led the way to the bar, ordering drinks for them and then guiding them outside to one of the balconies, where there was at least room to breathe.

Heero gratefully accepted the Old Fashioned Duo handed him.

"Here's to that bastard leaving in three days," Duo said and raised his glass.

Trowa and Heero touched their glasses against his, but Heero felt dread settle in his stomach. Three more days of Treize?

Duo must have seen something of his anxiety.

"Drink. We can think about it later." He instructed and emptied his own drink quickly.

Trowa and Heero followed suit and then Duo took their empty glasses and set them down.

"Come on." He grabbed both of their hands. "We're dancing."

Trowa looked as uncomfortable with the idea as Heero felt, but Duo had a determined look on his face and he dragged both of them back inside, deep into the pounding music and pulsing bodies.

It was too crowded to do more than move together, but that seemed to be exactly what Duo had in mind in any case. He put one hand around Heero's neck and dragged his close while he pressed his back against Trowa's front, grinding against him in time with the deep, throbbing bass of the music.

Trowa's hands wrapped around Duo's hips, guiding his movements and Heero gave into the urge to reach out and touch them, putting one hand on Trowa's waist and burying the other in Duo's hair. Duo pulled him closer and if there hadn't been heart-pounding music, strobing blue lights, hundreds of strangers, alcohol and lust buzzing through his system, it would have felt like a hug.

As comforting as it was, there was absolutely nothing platonic about it.

Heero looked into Trowa's eyes, taking in the pain and anger still there.

Someone bumped into Heero from behind and Duo's free hand drifted down to his waist, steadying him and pulling him even closer, eliminating all space between their bodies.

He felt the warm, wet press of Duo's open mouth on his neck. It wasn't a kiss, but it was something and it sent a jolt of lust straight to Heero's dick.

"He's not coming near you again," Duo shouted into Heero's ear, his words barely audible above the music. "I'm not letting him near you again."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
Kind of a short chapter that I needed to get us where we are going.   
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Four

Trowa glared at his phone for a full five minutes before giving in to the reality that the only way to turn off the alarm was to reach out and turn it off himself.  
He reached over and clumsily swiped his hand across the screen, settling the room into blissful silence once again.  
“Thank God.” Duo’s voice was muffled by his pillow. “I was ready to start throwing shit.”  
Trowa rolled over, reluctant to get out of bed just yet.  
“You’re not going running this morning?”  
“No,” Duo groaned and turned his head so that he could look at Trowa. “Don’t tell me you’re going to the gym?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Tro, your flight leaves at eleven - you need to be at JFK by -”  
“I’ve got enough time,” Trowa interrupted. Duo was more than a little anal retentive about scheduling flights and Trowa’s habit of showing up only ninety minutes before his flights as opposed to the two and a half hours that Duo preferred drove his husband crazy.  
“Still, you don’t need to go to the gym today. We were out late last night -”  
“I think you mean this morning,” Trowa corrected. It had been after three when they arrived back home.  
“Exactly. So if ever you could skip a day at the gym -”  
“I want to see how Heero’s doing.”  
Duo sighed.  
“Yeah. How are you doing?”  
Trowa moved over in the bed so that he could rest his head between Duo’s shoulder blades.  
Last night had been… even worse than Trowa had anticipated. It was one thing to have to deal with the way Treize looked at him, eyes undressing him and mouth curving into that oily sneer he had worn while Trowa gave him a blow job five years ago. It was entirely another thing to have the mental image of Heero and some Romanian doing coke and fucking each other for Treize’s enjoyment and seeing the way Treize looked at Heero, as though he was a particularly tasty dessert that he must have again. But then, afterwards, going out to PhD and drinking and dancing for hours… stumbling out of the cab and screwing on the stairs, the first time they had had sex in over a month and Trowa hated that it was because of Treize, hated that the memory of that man and Trowa’s mistakes had been the catalyst, but he didn’t regret it. Feeling Duo’s body, his cock and his ass that always felt like a perfect fit for Trowa - he had desperately needed that.   
“I’m okay,” he concluded. “Last night was good. After we left the office.”  
Duo nodded, his head bumping against Trowa’s slightly.  
“It was,” he agreed.  
“Heero was good,” Trowa added, thinking that as much as he had needed to touch Duo again, to feel him and know they still had this, those hours spent with Heero had helped him get to a place where he even wanted to be with Duo. It wasn’t a matter of desire - there wasn’t a day that went by when Trowa didn’t desire Duo - but more a matter of releasing his anger and his self-loathing and his anxiety. Without Heero, without those hours of feeling his and Duo’s hard bodies pressed against his own, the throb of dance music and the jewel colored flash of lights his entire focus, Trowa never would have been able to reciprocate Duo’s passion later that night.   
Duo let out a long, shuddery sigh.  
“Yeah,” he agreed. “He was.”  
Trowa allowed himself another minute in bed but then he rose and started to dress. Duo stayed in bed, watching him.  
“We need to figure this out, Tro.”  
Trowa pulled on the jeans and t-shirt he had laid out yesterday morning when he packed his bags. He hated to wear a suit while flying, and he figured that if he was going to be forced to fly he might as well be comfortable doing it.  
He looked at Duo, at the man he had been in love with for five years.   
“I want to,” he told Duo.  
Duo sighed.  
“We’re clear to take Tuesday off, so we’ve got four days at the Cape. We’ll be away from the city, from work - fuck, away from Treize - we’ll talk.” Duo grinned, his slow, sexy grin that Trowa had seen too little of these past months. “We’ll fuck.”  
Trowa walked over to the bed and kissed Duo.  
“I’d like that.”  
“Good. Now go away so I can sleep for another hour.”  
“Okay. Love you too,” Trowa muttered.  
Duo smirked and settled back on the bed, pulling up the sheets and snuggling against the pillows.  
“Mm. I know. Call me when you get to Miami.”  
Trowa was running late, but he made it to the gym only a few minutes after Heero had started to swim. He wasn’t sure Heero even noticed him join him in the pool until the end, when Heero waited for him on the edge of the pool.  
Trowa accepted the hand Heero held out to him, allowing the other man to help haul him out of the water.  
“Rough start this morning?” Heero asked him and Trowa arched an eyebrow back at him, noticing the faint circles under Heero’s eyes.  
“Just a late one,” Trowa told him.  
Heero nodded.  
They sat in the hot tub together, and the bump of Heero’s knees against his own had become familiar by this point.   
“I’m sorry, about last night. About Treize.” Heero said with a sigh.  
“You don’t have to apologize,” Trowa assured him, thinking back to his own near meltdown earlier, in his office, when Duo had had to practically pin him to the wall and talk him down. “I understand.”  
“I’ve never seen Duo that angry.”  
“Treize brings that out in him. Treize, divorce cases and child molesters would be the three things Duo hates most in the world.”  
“He said something - something about getting rid of Treize before?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“After - after I slept with Treize he tried to use it against me, tried to blackmail me into doing it again and Duo…” Trowa shook his head as he remembered how furious Duo had been. It had taken Trowa weeks to even admit what had happened to Duo and when he did he had been convinced that Duo would end things between them. Instead, Duo had made him retell the entire incident in excruciating detail, while he took notes, and describe every time Treize had spoken to him or tried to proposition him since then. And then, when Trowa had dredged up every moment of self-disgust and contempt, Duo had taken him to bed and spent hours practically worshipping Trowa’s body. Trowa would never forget that night, would never forget the look in Duo’s eyes when he kissed him and told him that he loved him.  
“Darlian had been talking about opening a London office for months,” Trowa continued. “I’m not sure what he said or how he did it, but Duo convinced Darlian that Treize should head up the London branch and got him shipped off about six months after it happened.” Trowa shrugged. “He comes back a few times a year, and every damn time he tries to get me in bed again and Duo is always there, always with a plan.”  
Heero swallowed hard.   
“I didn’t think he’d make a plan for me,” he admitted.  
Trowa sighed and rose from the hot tub. Heero followed him.  
“Duo makes a plan for everyone, Heero. But you - you’re important to him.”  
Trowa thought back to last night, to the way they had danced together. It had felt incredible, the three of them pressed together, Duo’s and Heero’s hands on him, his hands on their bodies and Heero’s eyes, as they lost that look of depression and turned warm and lusty.   
“You’re important to both of us,” Trowa added, and he meant it. Sex aside, memories of that amazing night aside, Heero was a friend now and Trowa cared about him.   
“You know,” Trowa said when they stepped out of the showers and walked back to their lockers, “I’m heading to Miami for this contract negotiation.”  
Heero nodded.  
“I remember.”  
Trowa sighed. He thought back to the way Heero had actually fled at just the sight of Treize.  
“You could go instead. I can make a few calls - I was going to go down today and fly back on Thursday night, but you could stay, stretch it into Labor Day weekend and by the time you get back Treize should be gone.”  
Heero stared at him.  
“Why?”  
Trowa sighed again.  
“Because I don’t want you to have to see him. I don’t - I don’t want to see you look like you did last night.”  
Heero shrugged.  
“But you’ll be in Miami. You don’t have to see it.”  
“No. It’s not - I don’t want you to feel that way either.”  
“I can’t do that. Duo and I start our trial next week and I can’t - I’m not going to take this away from you.”  
“You aren’t taking anything from me. Damnit, Heero, I want you -”  
His words were cut off by Heero’s mouth.   
God, why hadn’t he kissed Heero that night? His mouth was hot, wet, his tongue firm and it tangled with Trowa’s in a dance that made his heartbeat skip.   
Trowa wrapped his arms around the shorter man, backed him up against the wooden lockers and savored the feel of his damp body, his heat, his scent and his taste.   
Heero’s hands were on his back, kneading his flesh and his touch made Trowa groan. He angled his head, deepening the kiss and and he felt Heero gasp into his mouth.  
Trowa traced down Heero’s chest, across the rigid planes of his abdomen and pulled the towel at his waist away. He could feel the press of Heero’s hard cock and he touched it, wrapping his hand around the head and squeezing.  
Heero’s hands gripped Trowa’s hips tightly and he gasped again and rocked forward, seeking more contact.  
Trowa stroked Heero with his hand on his cock and his tongue in his mouth and Heero moved against him, spreading his legs and pulling Trowa closer.  
He felt Heero’s hands slide lower, felt them tug at the towel that was precariously wrapped on his hips and then Heero tugged it free.  
The rush of cool air against his bare body felt like a slap.  
Trowa pulled away from the kiss and sucked in a deep breath.  
Heero’s eyes were wide and clouded with lust and it was impossibly hard for Trowa to release him and step away.  
Fuck.   
“I’m sorry,” he said and he looked away, because the sight of Heero, naked, damp, breathing heavy and still erect, made him want to do things he had no right to do.  
“I kissed you,” Heero said.  
“Yeah, well, I’m the one who’s married and was a heartbeat away from fucking you in a public locker,” Trowa muttered. He grabbed his clothes and started to dress. Being naked beside a naked Heero was too dangerous.  
As he pulled on his boxers he looked at his wedding band, the thin gold ring mocking him. What the hell was he doing? He and Duo were finally, maybe, starting to get back on track and here he was practically molesting Heero in the gym locker room. He was married - married to a man who loved him and who had gone out of his way time and time again to protect Trowa, to forgive him and -  
There was no way he could keep ignoring this, he realized. After all these months, he still wanted Heero. After last night - after this - he didn’t even want to keep ignoring it anymore.  
“I’ll talk to Duo,” he said.  
“What?” Heero looked taken about. “What about?”  
“About you,” Trowa said.   
Heero stared at him.  
“What - what are you going to say?”  
Trowa shrugged.  
“I’ll ask him to run interference for you with Treize. It’s not - it’s not the same as you going to Miami, but it’s something at least. Duo will keep him away as much as he can.”  
“Oh.” Heero’s face lost all expression for a moment, but then he nodded. “Thank you.”  
“I - it’s the least I can do,” Trowa bit back a curse at the expression on Heero’s face. He wondered if he could possibly just take Heero with him to Miami, but he knew that would be a tough sell for Darlian, and an even tougher sell for Duo.   
Not to mention it would be stupidly dangerous - three days alone with Heero would, Trowa had no doubt, lead to more than a fondle in the lockers at La Palestra.   
This was getting very out of hand. He and Duo needed to talk about more than just them this weekend, because Trowa felt fairly certain that just them was no longer Duo and Trowa. Heero was part of them too.


	5. Chapter Five

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.

So I did something weird with this chapter - it takes place over three days instead of the usual one day. Sorry, broke that Aristotelian convention and I hope no one is too bothered. It was just too much to cram into one day.

Warnings: Angst, language, sex

Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement

Chapter Five

When Heero walked into the office at MLG he felt like he might as well have a scarlet A emblazoned on his suit jacket.

Only forty minutes ago he had been naked, his tongue down Trowa's throat and he had been so achingly close to orgasm – so close to coming all over Trowa's amazing body and his damned talented hand and now he was here, walking towards the office where Trowa's husband sat at his desk, staring at his computer screen, unaware of Heero's approach, of his betrayal.

Duo looked up as he neared and his look of concentration turned to one of concern. He started to rise from behind his desk, but then his cellphone rang and he picked it up with a slight frown.

Feeling like a coward, Heero took advantage of the distraction and picked up his pace, walking faster towards his own office.

He wasn't sure he could handle Duo's concern – not after that morning. He didn't deserve it now, and he hadn't even really deserved it before.

What he really deserved was –

"Shit."

As he approached his office he could see Relena Darlian sitting on his desk. He had decorated the office sparsely – a few Ansel Adams photographs that a client had given him years ago and dark, leather furniture that Gina had found somehow for him that wasn't quite as comfortable as the brown leather armchairs in Duo's office.

Relena looked out of place, with her blonde hair and her pink suit and her predatory smile as Heero approached and he just knew his office was going to smell like her now.

"Heero, it's so good to see you. I told Daddy I simply had to catch up with you before I went back to London. I love what you've done with my office." She leaned back on the desk slightly, and if she had been Duo or Trowa, posed like that, it would have filled Heero's head with all kinds of ideas. As it was – as it was, picturing Trowa naked, leaning back on his desk, reminded Heero of that morning.

"So," Relena continued, unaware of Heero's mental anguish at her presence and his own actions, "I figured I would spend the morning with you – see how you've been settling in, taking over my old clients, wondering if you could ever –"

"Relena. I'm busy."

Heero finally stepped into his office and put down his briefcase and his gym bag. He might be the scum of the earth and he might owe Duo one hell of an apology, but he was not going to let Relena Darlian ruin his day even more with her mere presence.

She arched an eyebrow.

"Daddy –"

"Relena. You aren't going to use your relationship to my boss to manipulate me," he assured her, thinking about Treize and Trowa, thinking about himself and Trowa. If he couldn't shut down Relena – he had no hope of keeping free of Treize.

She pouted for a moment.

"You've always been so rude," she finally sighed. "It's why you have such a hard time finding a girlfriend."

Heero rolled his eyes.

"I'm gay," he reminded her.

"Hm. Well, you don't seem to have much luck with boyfriends either, do you?" She challenged.

No, he really didn't, Heero knew, but he would be damned if he agreed with anything Relena said.

"Anyway, how are you doing with the YSI case?"

Heero frowned.

"Fine. Ask Duo if you want details, he's the lead council."

Relena sighed.

"He won't tell me anything. He's still pissy with me for having Daddy give me the case over him the first time around." She shrugged. "I have no idea why he cares so much – it's a great PR case, but he's never seemed to care all that much about how the firm is perceived anyway."

Heero arched an eyebrow.

"I think he simply cares about the case," he pointed out, thinking back to Duo's enthusiasm and dedication to this case – Heero had been impressed with Duo as a lawyer before, but especially after working with him on this case, he could see that Duo was brilliant and dedicated. He almost regretted having never faced him in court – he would have been a formidable foe.

"I just don't see why. It's just a bunch of juvenile delinquents."

"Who were horribly abused by an organization that was charged with helping them," Heero argued.

Relena shrugged.

"Yes, of course, but all the same – it's hard to feel all that much sympathy for them. But Duo is ready to open a vein for them or something."

Heero scowled. He had always found Relena to be insensitive and self-centered, but she did actually have a point – Duo was very emotionally invested in this case. Heero wondered why that was. He remembered Trowa saying that the three things Duo hated most were child molesters, divorce cases and Treize Khushrenada. He wondered if Duo had ever –

"Anyway, I was telling Daddy that we could really use another partner over in London. We've been able to expand so rapidly and it would be wonderful to have a junior colleague."

Heero just barely refrained from bodily removing her from his office. Of course she would rub in the fact that she was higher up in the food chain than he was.

"Then go bother the associates. I need to get to work. Please get off my desk." He said coldly.

For a moment it looked like she was going to stay sitting on his desk, but then with an irritated huff she stood up and walked to his door.

"I hope being such a dull robot makes you a good lawyer, Heero, because it makes you so boring to talk to."

He refused to acknowledge that parting shot and instead pulled his laptop out of his briefcase and got to work.

By eleven thirty he had managed to make significant progress on several cases, but he was distracted when he looked up from a brief to see Duo leaning against Gina's desk, a flirtatious smile on his face. He was idly leafing through the calendar on her desk while talking to her and Gina was completely mesmerized by him.

Heero didn't really blame her. Duo was incredibly handsome, but when he turned on the charm he was impossible to look away from. Even though he had no idea what they were talking about, Heero found himself intently watching Duo and the way his long, elegant fingers leafed through the pages of the calendar. He laughed at something and Heero had to look away – it was so damned unfair for him to be that gorgeous.

As he turned his head, he caught sight of Treize Khushrenada walking down the corridor, a predatory smirk on his face that froze Heero's blood.

Duo, still by Gina's desk, straightened up and offered Treize a chilly, barely polite nod.

Treize just smirked even more. He clearly loved the effect he had on people and relished Duo's hatred.

"Ah, just the junior partner I was looking for," Treize said as he stepped into Heero's office, completely ignoring Gina when she tried to stop him.

Just the sound of his voice was enough to make Heero's stomach revolt. The glitter in his beady blue eyes was so damned familiar from that night ten years ago -but now, hearing his voice, Heero could only think about what Treize had done to Trowa, and he felt rage build inside of him.

"Convenient that you read my name on the office door then," Heero bit out.

Treize chuckled.

"Indeed. I had hoped to speak with you more at the party last night, but you disappeared so soon. I try to get to know all of the Junior Partners, especially those with potential. Thomas relies on me for my opinions, you know, and -"

"Hey, sorry to interrupt!" Duo stepped into the office, an apologetic smile on his face. "But we've got a lunch meeting, Heero, buddy."

Heero arched an eyebrow. As far as he knew, they had no meeting scheduled for today at any point, much less over lunch.

"Remember?" Duo rolled his eyes and looked at Treize. "This guy - he's so focused on his cases that he just zones out of everything."

Treize arched an eyebrow.

"Perhaps he simply needs the right stimulation."

Heero swallowed hard. Treize could be hinting at cocaine or sex.

"Like a double espresso?" Duo interjected. "I keep telling him but he's all about regulating his caffeine intake or whatever but - come on, Heero, buddy, we've got to get a move on."

Heero started to save the document he had been working on.

"Well, if you aren't available for lunch today, how about tomorrow?" Treize offered. "I feel like I barely know you and I do so want to learn more about you."

"Yeah, sorry, Treize, but Heero and I are in meetings all day tomorrow - we've got opening statements for this YSI trial next week and you know how it goes."

Treize pursed his lips, clearly trying to think of a way around Duo's excuse. Eventually he shrugged.

"Very well. Then we shall have lunch on Thursday, before I return to London. I feel it is vital to learn more about our newest junior partner," Treize said and gave Heero a significant look.

"Thursday sounds great - we'll see you then," Duo said.

Treize glared at him, annoyed that Duo had invited himself along.

Duo just grinned at him and eventually Treize sighed and retreated.

"Thank you," Heero said sincerely once Treize was gone.

Duo shrugged.

"Don't mention it." He looked on the verge of saying more, but then he shrugged again.

"What lunch meeting do we have?"

"Oh, um, well, you have a lunch meeting with Vandy and I'm going to ditch you and have Mexican food since Trowa's gone."

Heero glared at him.

"Why can't all three of us eat Mexican?"

"Because then I'd associate Vandy's face with guacamole and I just cannot do that."

-o-

Duo really hadn't exaggerated their schedule for Wednesday - early in the morning they met with a few witnesses and key experts who would be testifying in the YSI case and that afternoon they met with the opposing council, Zechs Merquise, in Z&P conference room that Heero had really thought he would never have to see again.

Heero was completely prepared for the glares from his former colleagues, and he was even prepared for the way that Zechs Merquise greeted him with barely concealed loathing, but he was not prepared for the way that he and Duo were able to work together seamlessly to counter every suggestion, every insinuation, every snide comment that Zechs made. By the end of their two hour meeting, Heero felt almost giddy. He and Duo were practically finishing each others sentences as they shot down the paltry settlement offer Zechs finally put on the table and Heero was actually more turned on by Duo now, seeing him in full attack mode and working with him, than he had been the times they had danced together. It had been obvious before just why Trowa was so attracted to Duo, but after seeing him like this, Heero envied Trowa. He wondered if he and Duo had worked on cases before, and if Trowa had been this aroused by Duo's ruthless efficiency.

It was only as they were leaving, after Duo politely told Zechs to take the settlement offer and shove it up his ass, that Zechs managed to put a dent in Heero's enjoyment of the last two hours.

"I just hope you're willing to watch me on the news in a few months when I humbly accept the accolades for protecting our communities from dangerous criminals. Enjoy your snide comments now, because when we get in front of a judge and a jury I'm going to rip your case to shreds," Zechs assured them.

Duo sneered.

"The only dangerous criminals in this case are your clients - mine are the victims who have suffered through torture. Don't try to play mind games with me, Merquise, because I'm not going to let them down."

Zechs arched an eyebrow at that, and even Heero was surprised by that surprisingly personal admission from Duo. He was forced again to admit that Relena was right - Duo was dangerously close to this case.

He looked at Zechs and he could see the tall blonde man already thinking and planning on how to use that to his advantage. He was an excellent lawyer, and he especially excelled at exposing the weaknesses in the opposing council. And Duo had unfortunately just revealed a huge weakness.

"And of course," Heero spoke up quickly, "I'm looking forward to defeating you in court so that the public can finally acknowledge what we both have always known - I'm better than you."

Zechs glared at Heero. He had always resented Heero's rapid rise at Z&P and always believed Heero was no match for him.

"We shall certainly see," Zechs eventually bit out and then left them alone in the conference room.

Heero looked over at Duo and could see that the other man knew he had made a mistake.

"Let's grab a drink," Heero suggested and Duo nodded.

They took a cab over to The Black Rabbit, which had become a regular retreat for Heero ever since Duo and Trowa had first taken him there.

They were on their second drink before Duo spoke again.

"I know Trowa thinks I'm some kind of saint or something, but I'm not. I could have been one of these kids if it hadn't been for a stupidly determined school counselor." Duo shook his head and sighed. "After my Dad and my brother died I went through a lot of shit and eventually - I just figured, fuck the world - it liked to fuck me, you know? I was caught shoplifting and sentenced to community service and Dr. Po - she saved me from going down a really, really dark path with my life."

It was clear that Duo was leaving out a lot of information.

"I don't think shoplifting -"

Duo shook his head.

"That was the only thing I was ever caught for. The other shit - " Duo shrugged and offered a bitter, twisted grin. "I'm close to this case, to these kids. Too close, probably, but I'll be damned if I walk away from them."

"Trowa told me you hate child molesters," Heero said and Duo looked at him sharply. "He didn't tell me why," Heero hastened to add. He didn't want Duo to think Trowa had betrayed a confidence to him. It was bad enough that Heero still couldn't bring himself to admit to Duo that he had nearly had sex with his husband on Tuesday morning.

"Because he doesn't know why," Duo muttered.

Heero arched an eyebrow at that. It surprised him that Duo would keep secrets from Trowa.

"He told you about Treize," Heero had to point out, suspecting that it was one of Trowa's worst moments.

Duo nodded in agreement.

"He thinks it's just one of my things," Duo said after emptying his glass and signalling for another. "I hate child molesters and divorce cases and -"

"Treize Khushrenada."

Duo's lips twitched.

"I was going to say the Yankees, but yeah, I hate Treize too."

"But it's not just one of your things," Heero persisted. He wasn't sure why he was pushing Duo on this, but it felt like something he needed to know.

"No, it's not just - Jesus, man, why do you even care?"

"Why did you care about Treize and I?" Heero shot back.

Duo scowled at him.

"Because I care. Even now, even after you -" Duo stopped himself and shook his head. He glared at Heero. "I told you I'd only been with four guys before."

Heero nodded.

"So you and Trowa, obviously, and then Franklin, in law school who…" Duo sucked in a breath. "Franklin was the first guy I was with voluntarily." Duo accepted a fresh drink from the waitress and he stared at it instead of Heero."I said that I went through some dark shit after my Dad and brother died. I… fucking hell. I've never told anyone this shit."

Duo's voice was raw with emotion. Heero bumped his knee against Duo's. He didn't think he would respond well to an arm around his shoulders, and the casual touch was unobtrusive.

Duo pressed his leg against Heero's, tacitly accepting the comfort.

"I was sent to a therapist after the accident and… and he touched me. He fucked me and he - he spent months trying to get me to trust him, to open up to him and then he fucked me and told me no one would ever believe me if I told and -"

"Number 13," Heero realized.

Duo nodded in agreement. He seemed grateful that Heero had stopped him. "Yeah. Number 13."

They had assigned numbers to the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, and Number 13 had been a fifteen year old boy who had been raped repeatedly by one of the wardens in the correctional facility he had been sent to. He was now nineteen, and when they had interviewed him Duo had had a look of anger on his face during the entire deposition. Heero had assumed it was just anger over the treatment of the teenager, he had had no idea Duo had had a similar experience.

"How old were you?" Heero asked.

"Twelve. Thirteen when I finally convinced my Mother I didn't need to go to therapy anymore." He laughed darkly. "She kept saying that I clearly needed more therapy - that I seemed to be getting worse."

"You never tried to tell her?"

Duo shook his head.

"When they died - it was hard on her and I didn't want… I believed him, when he said no one would believe me and I didn't want to do that to her."

"Trowa would want to know," Heero said.

Duo shook his head in disagreement.

"No. Trowa doesn't - he never thinks anything is wrong with me and I don't want him to look at me like that, like I'm broken or fucked up or -"

"I'm not looking at you like that," Heero said and Duo turned his head and met his gaze.

"No, you aren't," Duo agreed.

-o-

Heero was hungover on Thursday, which wasn't surprising considering the sheer volume of alcohol he and Duo had consumed the night before, but it only made his anxiety about lunch with Treize worse.

But when noon rolled around and Duo walked over to lean against Heero's open door, looking so casually sexy that Heero forgot about his pounding headache. Duo offered him an almost shy look.

"Hey," he said.

"We need to work on our pacing when we go out drinking," Heero told him.

Duo nodded and then winced and massaged his temples. Heero was relieved that he wasn't the only one suffering.

"You okay?" Duo asked him after glancing down the hall to see if Treize was approaching yet. He stepped into the office and sat down in the chair across from Heero's desk.

"Yes. Thank you for doing this with me."

Duo shrugged one shoulder.

"Thanks for… you know. Listening to my shit and not looking at me like I'm some sort of pathetic -"

"Duo. I'm not looking at you like you're pathetic because you are not pathetic. Trowa wouldn't think you are either."

Duo shook his head.

"No, but he'd think I was… less or something. He thinks I'm -"

"Ah. Here you are."

Treize was standing in Heero's doorway, a smirk on his face.

Duo rolled his eyes and Heero fought back a comment about the obviousness of their location.

"So, where are you taking us for this fancy smooze lunch?" Duo asked Treize and stood up.

Treize looked like he wanted to have Duo killed and Duo grinned broadly at his irritated expression.

"I have reservations for us at Per Se," Treize said.

Duo arched an eyebrow.

"You really do want to make an impression on the new Junior Partner," he muttered and then turned to Heero. "I didn't get taken to Per Se until my second year as a Junior Partner, when Thomas and I talked about Treize moving to the London office."

A muscle in Treize's jaw jumped at that and Duo smirked slightly.

"In any case, shall we?"

Duo and Heero dutifully followed Treize out of the office.

"Thank you," Heero whispered to him.

"Of course. I'd never let a friend have lunch with Treize alone."

The lunch turned out to be blessedly anticlimactic. Every time Treize tried to make an insinuation about Heero and their past meeting, Duo jumped in with some blithely naive comment or a reference to Treize being sent to London. As a result, the conversation actually focused on work for most of the meal, and even when Treize promised to spend more time mentoring Heero next time he visited, Heero didn't feel that anxious. Duo in crusade mode, shooting down Treize and making Heero feel worth being saved, was a little scary and a lot sexy.

Treize left directly from the restaurant to go to JFK and catch a flight back to London and Duo suggested they walk back to the office.

"So, we need to talk about this."

Heero looked over at him.

"About Treize?" He really didn't know what else to say on the subject. Unless Duo had a permanent plan in mind for getting rid of the slimy man?

"About us. About you, Trowa and me. About that mind altering kiss you two had in the locker room at La Palestra and about the fact that Trowa can't keep his hands off you. And I -"

"He told you," Heero sighed in relief.

Duo gave him a look.

"Of course he told me. He called me on his way to the airport and told me that morning. Heero - Trowa and I are a team. We fuck up sometimes, a lot these days as it turns out, but we're in this together."

Heero wasn't entirely sure what to say. He found it nearly impossible to believe that Duo had known for the last two days and had still saved him from Treize. Duo had even confided in him, when Heero had done that to him and he had known the entire time.

"Look, Trowa flies in tonight from Miami and we're headed to the Cape for the long weekend Friday morning. We're driving back on Tuesday night."

"So you want to talk on Wednesday?"

"No." Duo fidgeted with his tie. "We want you to come with us, out to the Cape."

"Are you sure?" Heero found it nearly impossible to believe that Duo and Trowa would invite him to their summer retreat - he also didn't see how the invitation to their beach house could result in a conversation that didn't end with them naked together. Unless they planned on taking him sailing and dumping him overboard.

"Yeah. We're sure. I think being away from the city, from work - just the three of us together - will give us a chance to figure out what the hell we're going to do."


	6. Chapter Six

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
If you’ve been waiting for some sexy times, then read on because they have arrived.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Six

“So… ever been to the Cape before?”  
It was the second hour of their four hour odyssey to Martha’s Vineyard and Duo finally had to break the incredibly awkward silence.  
Trowa had always had the indescribably annoying ability to fall asleep anywhere, and as soon as they cleared the city traffic he was out like a light. Leaving Duo at the wheel and Heero in the back seat of their rented Prius, staring anywhere but at each other and saying absolutely nothing.  
He had turned on the radio and listened to sports talk for a while, but when the talk show switched to a segment on basketball he turned it off. After another half hour the silence finally got to him.  
Heero shook his head in the negative.  
“Turned down a few invitations, but I’ve never been out.”  
Duo had to arch an eyebrow at that.  
“Anyone I know?”  
Heero sighed.  
“Zechs Merquise.”  
“Oh.” Duo frowned at the irritation he felt at the idea that Zechs Merquise had invited Heero out to the Cape. And then he scowled as he realized he was jealous. As if he had any right to be jealous about Heero - as if he even wanted to.  
Duo sighed, now angry with himself. That was the point of this whole weekend - to figure out just what was going on between them and what they were going to make out of it, but for the life of him he couldn’t see this going well.   
“We had sex a few times, before I even met you, but…” Heero shrugged. “It was never going to go anywhere.”  
Duo nodded. He wasn’t sure what to say to that - wasn’t even sure what he wanted to say. But he knew that the next time he saw the man he would be thinking about the fact that he had been with Heero, and that only made Duo want to defeat him in court even more.  
“Did you two talk?” Heero asked, looking over at Trowa.  
“About?” Duo frowned in confusion.  
He and Trowa actually hadn’t talked much last night. His flight had landed close to midnight and by the time he arrived at their apartment it was after one in the morning and he had crawled into bed with Duo and spooned against his back until they both fell asleep.  
“About you and -”  
“No,” Duo hissed and had to look over at Trowa to make sure he was still asleep.   
He glared at Heero in the rearview mirror.  
Heero held his gaze.  
“You should.”  
“I can’t.” Duo knew how people looked at victims - he knew how he looked at the kids in the YSI case and he could not stand the idea of Trowa ever looking at him like that. He didn’t want Trowa to know that he had been used that way or that he had been terrified by the thought of another man touching him for ten years before he finally met Franklin and got drunk enough one night to finally kiss him. Trowa had always thought of Duo as someone who was strong and had his shit together - Duo did not want to let him down.  
“You can,” Heero insisted and Duo transferred his glare to the road since Heero didn’t seem the least bit intimidated by it. “He loves you.”  
“Just - let it go.”  
“No,” Heero said and Duo looked at him again, this time in exasperation.  
“Why the hell do you care so much? It’s got nothing to do with anyone but me.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow, but he shrugged, and his disapproval was so obvious it made Duo want to curse.  
Instead, he forced himself to relax his grip on the steering wheel and turned the radio back on, surfing until he found an NPR station.   
If this was a preview for how the weekend was going to go, Duo was not looking forward to the full treatment.  
-o-  
There was an awkward moment as they settled into the house and Heero stood in the living room, bag at his feet and a neutral look on his face as Duo and Trowa carried their bags up to the master bedroom on the second floor.  
Duo and Trowa exchanged a look. He felt confident that Trowa wanted Heero to sleep in their bed and even though Duo was trying to prepare for that, he wasn’t sure how he felt about Heero just moving into their room.  
“Tro, show him the guest room with the great view so he can put his stuff away.”  
Trowa nodded, a slight frown on his face as he tried to figure out what Duo really wanted, but he set his bag down at the top of the stairs and then went back down to show Heero to his room.  
Duo took his time putting away their clothes and toiletries. It was one thing to sit in a car for four hours and know that eventually they would arrive and would have to talk about what the hell they were going to do. But now they were here and now Heero was acting as if he had some kind of emotional investment in Duo’s life and he couldn’t wrap his head around how any of this was going to work.  
When he finally emerged from upstairs he found Heero and Trowa standing on the balcony by the kitchen, enjoying the view of the water. They were close enough that their shoulders were touching and they looked completely comfortable, completely at ease and complete and it filled Duo with the sense of defeat he had felt on Tuesday when Trowa had called him and told him what had happened between Heero and him.  
Trowa had always been good at divorcing emotion from logic - it made him an amazing lawyer - but it frustrated the hell out of Duo whenever they fought and listening to Trowa clinically describe the scene in the locker room had filled Duo with numbness.   
They were both attracted to Heero - they both liked him as a colleague and a friend - but Trowa had acted on it and Duo felt… defeated. He felt alone and betrayed and he had no idea how to tell Trowa that. Especially since the very next day he had sat down at a bar and spilled his darkest secret to the same man that his husband had nearly fucked.   
With a sigh, Duo opened the door to the balcony and walked out.  
Trowa turned and gave him a slight, hesitant smile.   
And of course there was that - the fact that Duo and Trowa were broken and Duo had no idea when it had happened and while it seemed easy to blame it on Heero and that one night, he knew it had to be more than that but he couldn’t figure out where the hell things had gone wrong.   
Heero stepped away from Trowa, giving Duo enough space to stand between them, but he hesitated.  
“I’m going to run to the grocery store,” he said, thinking of the only plausible excuse to put off this.  
“I’ll grab my sweater and -”  
“No,” Duo interrupted Trowa. “I’ll go on my own. Just -” he hated that he had to say this, “just don’t do anything without me, while I’m gone.”  
Both Trowa and Heero regarded him with guilty frowns. It was clear they hadn’t been plotting to get rid of Duo so they could fall into bed together immediately, but they had come too close to it only three days ago.  
“I’ll show him around the house and then we’ll go for a walk on the beach,” Trowa said, and Duo hated the sense of relief he felt at that plan.  
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak.  
“I’ve never been to a grocery store in Martha’s before,” Heero spoke up.  
Trowa arched an eyebrow at him and Duo frowned.  
“It’s just like any other grocery store,” Duo assured him.  
Heero shrugged.  
“Still, I can always get the tour later?”  
It was clear that Heero was not going to let Duo run away.  
Duo sighed and looked over at Trowa, but his husband actually had a slight smile on his face.  
They each had their own coping mechanisms. If he was upset, Trowa often stopped talking and his face took on a neutral, stony expression that infuriated Duo because he could not get through to him or get him to communicate. If Duo was upset, on the other hand, he usually tried to avoid any conversation on the subject and tried to get away. Over the years, Trowa usually let Duo run away when he didn’t want to talk about a problem and Duo tried to accept that Trowa didn’t want to talk about something when he clammed up and got that look on his face.  
Heero, it seemed, had absolutely no interest in letting Duo escape and figure out what the hell to do.  
“Fine. Let’s all go to the grocery store.”  
-o-  
“Do you have a wine preference?”  
They had stocked up on food and toiletries already and were heading out of the store when Trowa drove the shopping cart past the wine section.  
Heero shrugged.  
“Not really. I don’t care much for Merlot.”  
Trowa nodded and Duo watched him reach for a bottle of Malbec. He hesitated for a moment and then grabbed two more as well. Duo didn’t know if that meant Trowa thought the weekend was going to go that well or that badly.  
As they neared the register, Duo looked down the pharmaceutical aisle by the register. He looked over at Trowa, who arched an eyebrow back at him.  
With a sigh, Duo turned to Heero.  
“I’m clean,” Heero said without preamble, “but if you want -”  
Duo shook his head.  
“No, we are too and I trust you. I - well, we could probably use more lubricant though.” He started to walk towards the aisle and then stopped. “Do you have any lube preferences?”  
Heero smirked and then shook his head in the negative.  
“Okay, why don’t you two go ahead and check out so we don’t stand in line with a cart full of food, wine and lube together?”  
In no way was Duo ashamed of being gay, but he didn’t really think he could face a middle aged woman scanning lube for his weekend threesome adventure.  
Trowa chuckled but nodded and he and Heero walked to the checkout lanes.  
When they got home it was bizarrely domestic. Heero and Trowa worked together to unpack all of the groceries while Duo prepared the marinade for the steaks Trowa planned to grill later. By the time Duo cleaned up after himself he was feeling almost relaxed, but then he turned to see Heero and Trowa sitting in the cafe chairs on the other side of the kitchen island and the only item that had not yet been put away was the brand new bottle of KY Duo had purchased.  
He sighed and felt his previous anxiety rise again.  
“Look, I don’t know what to do here,” he finally just admitted.  
Trowa shrugged.  
“I’m not sure any of us do,” he agreed.  
Heero was looking at Duo with concern.  
“What do you want to do?” Heero asked him.  
“I have no fucking clue,” Duo sighed. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the kitchen counter. He looked at Trowa. “I know what you want.” He looked over at Heero. “And I’m pretty sure I know what you want, too.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“You do? Because I still don’t know,” he mused. “I know that I don’t want to push you away - and I don’t want to pretend like we don’t both want Heero.”  
Duo ran a hand through his hair.  
“Sure - and I don’t want to -” Duo stopped himself. He and Trowa did both want Heero. Duo was just afraid that the more time Trowa spent with Heero, the less he would want to spend with Duo. The two of them already seemed so perfectly at ease with each other, and despite the fact that Duo had been married to Trowa for two years, despite the fact that he had been madly in love with him for five years and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him, Duo knew that something was missing from their lives and he was fairly certain that Trowa had found that missing something in Heero. But he couldn’t just say that - he couldn’t just admit how pathetically jealous and insecure he was.  
“I don’t want to make things worse between you two,” Heero spoke up again, breaking into Duo’s inner turmoil.  
Duo and Trowa exchanged another look.  
“I don’t think you’ve made anything worse,” Trowa said, still looking at Duo and seeming to choose his words carefully. “You’ve just made us realize things weren’t perfect.”  
Duo had to nod in agreement.  
“Which brings us to here… and now… and trying to figure out what to do about this.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“Do you want to make a plan?”  
Duo hesitated. He didn’t know if a plan was exactly what he wanted - but he definitely wanted to know what the expectations were for this weekend - and beyond that.  
“I don’t think this is something you can plan,” Trowa said and shrugged. “We’ve been making plans for years and this never occurred to us. I don’t know how we can make a plan for this.”  
Duo frowned. It was true that they had never discussed the eventuality of a threesome - outside of their one night stand - but he didn’t think going into this blind was going to work out well. And Trowa knew that Duo liked to have a plan of attack for everything from cleaning the house to Christmas present shopping to adopting a baby when one of them made senior partner.  
If Trowa was trying to avoid making any kind of plans now, was it because the plans he had in mind weren’t going to satisfy Duo?  
“So… we’re just going to go with this and see what happens?” Duo hazarded.  
“Is that okay?” Trowa looked at him and Heero.  
Heero shrugged one shoulder, a neutral expression on his face and Duo wondered what he really wanted. This whole situation was incredibly complicated for Duo and Trowa - but what about Heero? Even if Heero and Trowa had an easy connection already, he was still an outsider to this, to them.   
“We don’t have to do anything,” Heero mused. “You invited me to spend the weekend at the Cape with you and -”  
“No,” Trowa and Duo said together.   
“We’ve spent months working together trying to pretend there isn’t something between us,” Duo sighed. “And you and Trowa - hell, maybe if I went to the gym with you and got to see you naked everyday then we would have done this a long time ago but if we keep ignoring this the two of you are going to -”  
“It was my fault,” Heero interrupted. “And if you don’t want this then I’m not going to -”  
“I do want it,” Duo growled. “I just don’t know what the fuck I’m supposed to do about the fact that I want you and Jesus, Tro, we’re married and we work with Heero and -”  
“And I think about him everyday. I think about him, and you - the way he touched you that night, the look on your face when he was inside you and his mouth on your cock and every time I see the two of you in your office working together I think about that night.” Trowa’s voice sounded strained, and while it was sexy as hell to hear him say those things, Duo could tell that it was more than lust Trowa felt. He felt guilty and off-kilter too, and Duo realized he was being an idiot. Trowa wanted this, Duo wanted this - Heero wanted this - and on some level Duo suspected they all needed it.   
And he knew that Trowa wanted him to take the lead, as he always did, because Trowa trusted him and Duo was willing to bet that especially after Tuesday, Trowa didn’t trust himself very much.  
Duo looked over at Heero. There was desire in his eyes, but he still looked uneasy and guilty.  
Fuck it, Duo decided. There was no need for all of them to feel like this.  
“I think about his mouth on my cock too,” he said, and he watched both Trowa and Heero swallow. “And your mouth on his cock,” Duo smirked, “and the way you licked up his cum - I never got to taste it. Did you enjoy it?”  
Trowa’s eyes were dark and narrow, and Duo was willing to bet he was already half hard - Trowa had always said that Duo’s voice was enough to get him hard.  
Trowa nodded.  
“Yes. You should try it.”  
They both looked over at Heero.  
“Do you still have the rules about no kissing and no talking?” He asked.   
Trowa and Duo both shook their heads in the negative.  
“If Trowa gets to have an earth-shattering kiss with you then I sure as hell do too,” Duo said. “And Trowa’s pretty demanding in bed - so if you want to hear him tell you to fuck him harder, then we can eliminate the no talking rule too.”  
Heero swallowed hard and nodded.  
Duo picked up the lube on the island counter.  
“Shall we give Heero a tour of the upstairs bed?” He suggested to Trowa, who smirked and stood up.  
Sure enough, there was a definite bulge in the front of his khakis and Duo stepped forward and caressed him through his pants.  
Trowa pressed back against him and leaned down to kiss him.  
It felt good - that familiar thrill of lust and heat and strength that he had always felt when kissing Trowa - but Duo was aware of Heero still sitting at the counter, looking at them with an uncertain expression on his face.   
Duo pulled away from Trowa’s mouth and started to kiss his way across his jaw and towards his ear. He bit down on his earlobe and Trowa moaned.  
“Why don’t you tell Heero what you want him to do?” Duo suggested and Trowa shivered.  
“I want him to kiss you,” Trowa said, his voice low and thready.  
“Mhm,” Duo agreed and sucked on Trowa’s pulse point. “Me too.”   
He turned and saw Heero finally stand up.   
“How does that sound to you?”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“It sounds like you’re going to use the end of the no talking rule to torture me,” Heero growled and then stepped forward, pushing Duo back against Trowa and kissing him.  
And Duo completely agreed with Trowa’s assessment that not kissing Heero that night had been a damned mistake.   
Heero brushed his lips against Duo’s, his mouth open and his tongue teasing until Duo opened his mouth and Heero’s tongue caressed his, sweeping into his mouth and filling Duo with an electric jolt of need.  
Duo could feel Trowa’s hands on his thighs, pulling him back against his groin for friction and Heero’s hands tangled with Trowa’s as they reached around Duo to grab Trowa. Duo still had the lube clutched in his left hand, but he wrapped his right arm around Heero and pulled him closer, grinding against him as the kiss continued and he thought about Tuesday night, the three of them dancing together while they tried to forget about Treize and this suddenly felt right.  
“Why don’t we save the tour of the bed for later?” Trowa suggested and his hands moved to the fly of Duo’s jeans. “And start off with a tour of the couch down here first?”  
Duo nodded in agreement. He sucked on Heero’s lower lip and the other man groaned. His hands joined Trowa’s and soon Duo was naked from the waist down, with Trowa’s and Duo’s hands both wrapped around his cock and his balls and the feeling was incredible.  
“Jesus,” he breathed and leaned his head back against Trowa’s chest. He looked down at the sight of four hands caressing him and Heero took advantage of the shift in position to unbutton Duo’s shirt.  
Heero started to press open mouthed kisses against the flesh he uncovered.  
One of Trowa’s hands strayed upwards and tweaked Duo’s right nipple. Duo moaned and then he gasped when Heero, now kneeling in front of him, licked the head of Duo’s cock.  
Trowa was still stroking him, and he angled Duo into Heero’s mouth and the other man sucked his hard, sensitive flesh.  
The combined sensations of Trowa stroking him and Heero sucking on him very quickly brought Duo to the brink of orgasm. He clutched Heero’s hair between his hands.  
“Fuck - I’m going to come.”  
Heero pushed Trowa’s hand away so that he could swallow more of Duo and the intense suction brought him off immediately. He shuddered as Heero continued to suck on him, gently now, lapping at his cock and swallowing all of Duo’s cum.  
One of Trowa’s hands joined Duo’s on Heero’s head, threading his fingers through the hair and caressing him.  
Trowa chuckled.  
“So much for the tour of the couch.”  
Duo had to laugh as well and he could feel Heero smile as he finally released Duo’s cock.  
Duo sighed and leaned back against Trowa, allowing his husband to completely support his weight.  
“We could make the couch our next stop,” Duo said, “or go upstairs. Either way, I think it’s my turn to taste Heero’s cum.”  
Heero stood up and reached for the hem of his own shirt. He pulled it up and over his head and then started on his khakis. Heero took his time undressing while Duo and Trowa watched.  
Trowa’s hands were already straying back to Duo’s still sensitive cock, and Duo could feel Trowa’s own cock, still in his khakis, still hard, pressing against the space between his ass cheeks.  
He pushed back against him and Trowa’s hips arched forward, grinding against him.  
“I’m happy to tour the couch first,” Heero said once he was completely naked, his erect cock proudly jutting out and Duo licked his lips, eager to taste the bead of precum on the tip.  
He passed the lube to Trowa.  
“I want you to fuck me while I suck him off,” he told Trowa.  
He stepped away and took Heero’s hand, pulling him out of the kitchen and towards the living room.  
“This,” he said, “ is the couch.” He indicated the long, wide tan couch across from the bank of windows that looked out at the water.  
“I like it,” Heero said with a smirk and Duo kissed him again. As they kissed he reached out and touched Heero, running his hands over the firm body that he had fantasized about for months.  
Heero’s hands squeezed his ass cheeks, pulling them apart and then Duo felt the cool press of Trowa’s lubed finger against his anus.   
He pulled away from Heero’s mouth.  
“We’re not even going to make it to the fucking couch,” he complained and then he moaned when Trowa’s finger entered him.  
“Good thing we went for carpet over hardwood floors, then,” Trowa commented and used his free hand to push at Duo’s shoulder, guiding him down the floor.  
Duo and Heero managed to kneel down while still kissing, Trowa’s finger still in Duo’s ass.  
Trowa added a second finger and Duo gasped into Heero’s mouth when he brushed against his prostate.  
He gently pushed Heero away.  
“Lay down,” he said.  
Heero smirked.  
“I thought Trowa was the demanding one?”  
“I am,” Trowa assured him, and his words were hot against the side of Duo’s neck. “But so is Duo.” He kissed Duo’s neck and Heero’s gaze shifted to that spot, his eyes dark and heavy.  
Duo grabbed one of the throw pillows from the couch and passed it to Heero, who took the hint and laid down, propping the pillow under his head, and Duo knelt down between his legs.  
In all the combinations they had tried that night, Duo going down on Heero had been omitted, and he was eager to remedy that. His cock was thicker than Trowa’s or Duo’s, and he tasted different, just slightly more bitter than Trowa, and Duo ran his tongue over the hard shaft, exploring the shape and silky texture.   
“Suck on him,” Trowa said, and Duo felt the nudge of his lubed cock against his ass. “I want you to wrap your mouth around his cock and swallow him down.”  
Duo eagerly complied with Trowa’s command and Heero’s hips bucked upwards eagerly as Duo started to work his shaft into his mouth and throat.  
Trowa entered him slowly, inch by inch, seeming to match the time it took for Duo to swallow Heero’s cock.  
“Fuck,” Heero moaned. His fingers were buried in Duo’s hair, teasing at the base of his braid.  
And then Trowa started to move, pulling out of Duo and then pushing back in with a forceful thrust that pushed Duo down Heero’s cock even further and all three of them moaned.  
The combined sensation of being filled by Trowa’s cock in his ass and Heero’s in his mouth was incredible, and when Trowa’s hand wrapped around his cock and started to stroke him in time with his own thrusts Duo felt overwhelmed by the sensations.  
Heero’s hips started to shudder and jerk upwards as Duo continued to suck on him and Duo ran his hands up Heero’s chest, feeling his hard body shiver beneath his touch and he pinched his nipples, earning a gasp from Heero.  
“I’m close,” he panted, and his grip on Duo’s hair tightened and then he moaned. “Oh God, Duo!”  
The sound of Heero calling out his name very unexpectedly sent Duo over the edge and he came at the same time as Heero. He swallowed down all of Heero’s cum, nearly choking in the process.  
Heero eased himself out of Duo’s mouth and then shifted his body closer, under Duo’s, and pulled him close for a kiss while Trowa continued to fuck him.   
Duo could feel Heero’s legs wrapped around his and Trowa’s, pulling all of them closer together and when Trowa came with a hoarse groan a moment later, Duo couldn’t recall ever feeling more satisfied.  
Trowa pressed a kiss against the base of his spine as he pulled out of Duo.  
“Why don’t you give Heero a tour of the shower while I clean this up?” He suggested.   
“I can’t promise we’ll make it that far,” Duo said and he kissed Heero again, smirking against his lips and he felt Heero smirk back. “After tall, the top of the stairs is on the way.”  
Trowa moved around to kiss them, their lips and tongues swirling together for a moment as they hungrily, sloppily tried to taste each other.  
“Then I’ll meet you on the top step,” Trowa assured them.


	7. Chapter Seven

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
So about that smut…   
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Seven

Heero woke up to the sound of low voices.  
“We’re on vacation, sleep in,” Trowa was mumbling, his voice a low and gravelly.  
“I’ll be back in half an hour - an hour tops. Go back to sleep,” Duo responded, his voice more alert, but still quiet.  
Heero was nestled against Trowa’s back, and he shifted in the bed so that he could look over and see Duo, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, lacing up his running shoes.  
Duo saw him.  
“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you.”  
“Are you going running?” Heero was honestly impressed - after their marathon of sex last night he didn’t know how Duo had the energy.  
“Yeah, you two go back to sleep.”  
There was a tense set to Duo’s shoulders, and the skin around his eyes was tight with what Heero suspected was anxiety. He frowned.  
“Want company?”  
Duo shook his head in the negative.  
“No. I like to run alone.” He finished with his shoes and approached the bed.   
Heero watched as Duo pressed a kiss to Trowa’s forehead and then hesitated before leaning over and kissing Heero on the lips. “I’ll be back.”  
As Duo left the bedroom, Trowa rolled over so that he was facing Heero. His hair was tousled and his eyes heavy with sleep, but other parts of him were clearly awake - his morning erection nudged against Heero’s own.  
Trowa smirked and shifted forward experimentally and Heero reached down to pull Trowa’s hips closer to his own.  
Trowa kissed Heero’s throat, working his way down his neck to his chest and Heero groaned when Trowa bit down on his left nipple.  
“We should wait for Duo to get back before doing anything else,” Trowa said when Heero reached down to hold their erections together and started to stroke them.  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“So you’re just going to tease me then tell me to go back to sleep?”  
Trowa chuckled, low and throaty and it sent a jolt of lust right to Heero’s groin.  
“Yep. Roll over.”  
Heero reluctantly released his hold on Trowa and did as instructed, rolling over so that he faced away from Trowa.  
Trowa curled against his back, fitting his cock between Heero’s ass cheeks and wrapping his right arm around Heero’s hip.  
“You are cruel,” Heero muttered, fighting against the urge the rock backwards against Trowa’s hard, leaking cock.  
Trowa pressed a kiss to the base of Heero’s neck.  
“I know. Now try to go back to sleep.”  
Heero snorted.  
“As if I could with your cock inches away from where I want it to be.”  
Trowa smiled against his back.  
“At least you have something to dream about then.”  
It took a while, but eventually Heero fell back asleep, relaxing into the warm, firm body behind him and the soft pillow under his head. He was still exhausted from the night before - he and Duo had barely made it to the top of the stairs before they were kissing and groping each other, sinking down to the carpeted landing and sixty-nining each other until Trowa joined them and Duo fucked Heero while Trowa sucked him off. Eventually they made it to the shower, and then the bed, but dinner was forgotten entirely and by the time they finally fell asleep on the king sized bed in the master bedroom Heero could see the faint glow of the sun rising over the water through the floor to ceiling windows on the eastern wall of the room.  
When Heero woke up again he could hear the shower running, and Trowa, still pressed against his back, was slowly teasing Heero’s soft cock back to a full erection.  
Heero rubbed his ass against Trowa’s half-hard cock, earning a groan from Trowa.   
Trowa tightened his grip on Heero and he released his own groan.  
“Did you dream of this?” Trowa asked, his voice teasing.  
“Yes,” Heero gasped. He reached around to Trowa’s ass to tease at the ring of tight muscles nestled there. Trowa helpfully spread his legs, forcing his cock even closer to Heero’s own entrance.  
“Mhm. Me too,” Trowa told him and licked a hot trail across Heero’s neck to his ear and gently sucked on his earlobe. “Of course, in my dream you were fucking Duo while I buried my cock deep inside of you.”  
“God yes,” Heero moaned, thinking of how tight Duo’s ass was, how amazing Trowa’s cock felt inside of him.  
As if he knew they were thinking about him, the shower cut off and Duo walked out a moment later, naked except for the towel he was using to dry off his long, loose hair.  
It was the first time Heero had seen his hair down, and his fingers ached to touch it.  
Duo arched an eyebrow, his gaze tracing their arms to the edge of the sheet, just covering their hips and their hands.  
“Getting started without me?” His voice was neutral, but he still looked just as tense as he had when he had left for his run before.  
“Just getting ready,” Trowa said.  
Duo approached the bed, still rubbing his hair with the towel, and Heero allowed himself to drink in the sight of Duo’s lean, toned body and the play of his muscles as he moved.  
“Show me,” Duo said.  
Trowa released Heero and flicked the sheet down lower before transferring his hand back to Heero’s hard, aching cock.  
Duo’s eyes took in the sight of Trowa stroking Heero’s cock, of Trowa’s right leg thrown over Heero’s and Heero’s hand teasing Trowa’s rim. He licked his lips and Heero saw his cock start to swell as he continued to watch them.  
“Join us,” Trowa said, his voice sexy as hell and hot against the back of Heero’s neck. “I want to watch Heero fuck you again.”  
Duo swallowed hard. He hesitated for a moment, then dropped the towel by the side of the bed and climbed back in, crawling over to them and pressing against Heero as he leaned over to kiss Trowa.  
Heero arched his hips forward, against Duo, and Trowa helpfully opened his large hand to grip both of their erections together.  
Duo groaned and pulled away from Trowa and leaned down to kiss Heero instead.  
His mouth was fresh and cool and Heero drank him in, hungrily kissing him back and running his tongue along Duo’s, his nerve endings hyper aware of the feel of the two men surrounding him.  
Duo continued to grind against him while Trowa stroked them both and Heero eased one finger into Trowa, gently caressing him, mindful of the fact that they weren’t using any lube.  
“Fuck,” Duo moaned and finally broke away from kissing Heero. “You’re such a fucking tease, Tro. Give me some lube already and let Heero fuck me.”  
Trowa chuckled and gave one last, forceful tug before releasing them. He eased Heero’s hand away and rolled over to get the half-empty tube of lube on the nightstand.  
“Lay on your back,” he instructed Duo, who complied and spread his legs. Heero knelt between them and accepted the lube from Trowa, smearing some on his fingers and then leaning down to lick and nip at Duo’s chest while he traced his finger around his tight entrance.  
Duo gasped at the dual sensations and then moaned when Heero slowly inserted one finger into him.  
“You two are so fucking beautiful,” Trowa said and Heero felt him shift to kneel behind Heero.  
He felt the cool press of Trowa’s lubed fingers against him and he spread his knees, allowing Trowa greater access.  
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to run with an erection?” Duo moaned again. “All I could think about were the two of you naked in this bed.”  
“You should have just stayed with us,” Trowa told him. “And put your cock to good use instead of trying to keep it from falling out of your shorts.”  
Duo glared at him over Heero’s shoulder.  
“Speaking of putting cocks to good use,” Duo said, his voice heavy with lust, “I think I’m ready for more than your fingers, ‘Ro.”  
Quatre had called him that, a few times, when they fucked, and it took Heero back to his memories of Amsterdam for a moment, until Trowa reached around to coat his cock in lube.  
He leaned back against Trowa, enjoying the feel of the other man stroking him, and the sight of Duo spread out under him, legs wide and Heero’s fingers knuckle deep in his ass was incredibly erotic.  
Trowa kissed Heero’s shoulder and then bit down a little sharply.  
“I want you to fuck him hard, show him what happens when he makes us wait for him.”  
Heero swallowed hard. Trowa was demanding, but Heero was more than happy to oblige him. He pulled his fingers out of Duo and positioned his cock at Duo’s entrance, rubbing against him for a moment to tease both of them, but then he took hold of Duo’s hips and buried himself deep.  
They moaned together, the feeling of Duo’s hot, tight body was intense, magnified by the pressure Trowa’s fingers were putting on Heero’s prostate.   
He gave Duo a moment to adjust to him, but then he pulled out and slammed back in and Duo’s hands reached out to clutch the sheets. His blue eyes were dark and wide and his mouth open as he moaned again and again, each time Heero filled him up with another thrust.  
“Oh fuck,” Duo groaned and he started to push back against Heero, his hips rising to meet Heero’s thrusts and behind him, Trowa pushed his fingers into Heero even deeper.  
Duo used his right hand to start stroking himself, spreading his precum over his cock until it glistened.  
“No,” Trowa growled and knocked Duo’s hand away. “You made us wait - now you have to wait.”  
“You’re such a fucking asshole in bed,” Duo panted, but he didn’t try to touch himself again.  
Trowa scissored his fingers open inside of Heero and he came, suddenly and forcefully, crying out and filling Duo’s tight ass with what felt like an improbably long orgasm.  
He fell forward onto Duo, struggling to regain his breath, and he felt Duo’s arms come around him, holding him close.   
He could hear the hammer of his own heartbeat, and could feel Duo’s own under his head.   
Trowa pulled his fingers out and then Heero felt the nudge of his cock.  
“Too sensitive?” Trowa asked when Heero shuddered.  
“No,” Heero lied and shuddered again when Trowa slowly, oh so fucking slowly eased inside and to Heero’s incredible embarrassment he came again, his body jerking forward onto Duo’s when Trowa’s cock nudged his prostate. He could feel his cum leaking out of Duo’s ass, and Duo squirmed against him, his hard cock jabbing against Heero’s abdomen.  
Trowa chuckled, but he didn’t pull out. He held still, waiting for Heero to ride out the second orgasm before he moved again.  
Heero eased himself off of Duo, resting his weight against Trowa’s thighs and letting the other man hold him steady while he reached for the lube, coating his fingers before he started to stroke Duo’s neglected cock.  
“Fucking finally,” Duo moaned when Heero touched him, and Heero had to smirk at that.  
“Should we let him come?” Trowa asked Heero, his hands tight on his hips and his cock steadily pumping in and out of Heero’s ass, brushing against his sensitive prostate and causing Heero to moan each time. “Or should we make him wait? Make him wait until your hard cock is back inside his tight ass again and your cum is leaking out of him even more?”  
Trowa’s voice and his words were incredibly arousing, and Heero actually felt his cock twitch and start to grow hard again.  
“Fucking hell, Tro, please,” Duo begged, his hips jerking unsteadily as Heero continued to stroke him and bring him towards climax.  
“Don’t beg me, beg Heero. Tell him how much you need it.”  
Duo swallowed hard.  
“Please, ‘Ro, Jesus please let me come.”  
“I want to be inside you again,” Heero said. “I want to feel you come while my cock is buried deep inside you.”  
“Fuck, yes, please, please.” Duo shifted his legs open and reached for Heero’s cock, firmly stroking him back to a full erection before guiding him to Duo’s wet, semen coated entrance.   
Heero eased inside and Duo groaned.   
“God, yes, fuck your cock feels so good.” Duo’s eyes were closed, his head thrown back, his drying hair spread all over the pillows and Heero didn’t think he had ever seen anything more breathtaking.  
“Make him come,” Trowa told Heero, and his voice and movements unsteady as he neared orgasm.  
Heero tightened his grip on Duo’s cock and he pushed himself inside of the other man fully.  
“Fuck I’m close, I’m so fucking close,” Duo gasped and Heero drove inside him sharply, angling against his prostate and Duo came with a hoarse shout.  
“Oh fuck, ‘Ro, yes,” he said.  
Heero continued to stroke him, milking his cock until Duo gasped and shuddered and reached out to still Heero’s hand.  
Trowa’s fingers tightened on Heero’s hips and he groaned and Heero could feel him coming, hot semen coated him and he came again, burying his cock deep inside Duo and emptying himself.  
“Holy shit,” Duo breathed.  
Heero nodded and Trowa chuckled.  
He slowly eased out of Heero and Heero pulled out of Duo. He couldn’t recall getting off that frequently or that much since he had been a teenager and he couldn’t help but feel vaguely embarrassed as he looked at the thick, white semen coating his cock and still leaking from Duo’s ass.   
Duo rolled over and grabbed the towel he had abandoned by the side of the bed.  
Heero watched as he cleaned himself off before offering the towel to Heero.  
“I’m thinking I need another shower,” he sighed, but laid back down on the bed, his body completely relaxed and all signs of his earlier tension gone.  
Heero passed the towel to Trowa, who wiped at Heero’s body before cleaning himself off.  
“Let me take one first,” Trowa said. “I can put on the steak while you and Heero shower next.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Steak?”  
“Sure. Nothing like firing up the grill at eight in the morning.”  
“It’s only eight?” Heero had to ask. They had only fallen asleep a few hours ago and had already had more sex than Heero had dreamed about for months this morning.  
Trowa got out of the bed and both Heero and Duo’s eyes raked over his body as he stood.  
“And it’s still only Saturday,” Trowa said over his shoulder as he walked towards the bathroom. 

-o-

“Any chance you like to sail?” Duo asked him over breakfast - Trowa had decided to make eggs and toast with the steak, and Heero was incredibly grateful. He hadn’t eaten since lunch the previous day, and he felt confident that they had easily burned as many calories having sex as he usually did when working out.  
“Yes,” Heero said and Trowa sighed in defeat.  
Duo smirked.  
“Great. A friend of mine said I could take his boat out this weekend.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow at Trowa.  
“You don’t like to sail?”  
“It’s not that I don’t like to sail,” Trowa muttered.  
“He makes a better passenger than he does a first mate,” Duo said, his voice amused and his expression warm.  
It reminded Heero, once again, that these two men had built an entire life together, and that their feelings for each other ran very deep.  
“I just don’t enjoy treating every outing like a qualifier in the America’s Cup,” Trowa argued.  
“Do you race?” Heero asked Duo, who shook his head in the negative.  
“A bit, back in college, but I don’t have the interest in it anymore.”  
Heero had never figured Duo for a sailor, but he could imagine that Duo, barechested and tan behind the manning the tiller, was incredibly sexy.  
It was after noon when Duo drove them to the marina and led the way down the docks towards a beautiful 45-foot J/105. It was a weekender, a mid-sized sailboat that was good for racing with a small crew. Her name was Peacemillion, displayed in a gold scrawl on her starboard side.  
A middle aged man with wild gray hair and a Hawaiian print shirt stood on the dock beside her and Duo greeted him with a hug.  
“Howie! I really appreciate you letting us take Peace out,” he said.  
“Not a problem, Duo! I’m glad she’ll get to see some action!” The man looked over the rims of his dark sunglasses at Trowa and Heero. “Nice to see you again, Trowa - I thought you said you’d never go sailing with Duo again after last time, though?”  
Trowa smirked at Duo, who shook his head in mock despair.  
“I’m only going because Heero,” Trowa gestured at him, “agreed to crew the boat - all I have to do is enjoy the sun.”  
“Well I’m not going to take her back out until Monday, so if you boys want to keep her out for the night feel free to - the galley’s stocked and I just changed the sheets in the cabins.”  
“You don’t mind?” Duo asked him, and it was obvious he wanted to jump at the chance to take her out overnight.  
Trowa sighed, but there was a smile tugging at his lips when he looked over at Heero.   
They were all wearing sunglasses, and while Heero couldn’t see Trowa’s eyes, he could imagine they were filled with heat as he too imagined an afternoon and a night spent together on the boat. Heero hoped the cabin berths were a decent size.   
“No, not at all - you always take good care of her and I know how hard it is for you to convince Trowa to sail with you. Keep him out there for as long as you can!”  
Howard clapped Duo on the back, waved at Heero and Trowa, and then walked away.  
Duo smirked at them and gestured to the boat.   
“Looks like we’ve got a new place to give you a tour of Heero, buddy,” he said.  
Heero helped Duo set up and sail the Peacemillion out into the bay while Trowa immediately settled himself on the deck with a book, completely disinterested in their work.  
They were out in the open water in almost no time, a good breeze and Duo’s excellent steering sending them cutting smoothly through the water.   
“Take her over for a second,” Duo told Heero and gestured to the tiller.  
Heero did as instructed, sliding over to the spot Duo had vacated and the other man stood up and pulled off his shirt before sitting back down.   
Duo didn’t immediately take the tiller back, but his hand rested on Heero’s his fingers tracing over his wrist and pausing on the three-inch long scar on the inside of his wrist.  
Shit. Heero realized he hadn’t put his watch back on after his shower with Duo that morning.  
“What happened here?”  
It was impossible to tell what Duo was thinking, his aviator sunglasses reflected back Heero’s own panicked expression without revealing anything of Duo’s own.  
“I tried to kill myself with a kitchen knife when I was fifteen,” Heero said, trying to keep his voice as level as possible.  
Duo’s fingers tightened on his wrist.  
“Why?” Duo’s voice was somewhere between shocked and furious.  
Heero shook his head.  
“I can’t - I don’t talk about it.”  
Duo dropped his hand away from Heero’s.  
“Easy enough to tell someone else to spill their shit to the people they love but it’s hard to do it when it’s your turn, isn’t it?” Duo asked, his voice irritated.  
“You have no reason not to. You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Heero bit out.  
“And you do?”  
Heero nodded.  
“Yes.”  
Duo continued to look at him for a long moment, but then he turned away. Heero couldn’t decide if he was grateful or regretful for not being able to see Duo’s eyes in that moment.   
“Looks like Trowa is showing off for us,” Duo said after several minutes of tense silence.  
Heero looked towards the deck, where Trowa had spread a towel over a cushioned section and had abandoned his book. Like Duo, he had taken off his shirt, but unlike Duo, he had stripped down to just his tight, green boxer briefs and was laying on his back, legs spread and sunbathing.  
Duo turned back to Heero, and he pushed his sunglasses up onto his forehead.  
“I seriously doubt you have anything to be ashamed of, ‘Ro, but I get it. I hate talking about personal shit too. But -” Duo reached out and traced over the scar again. “This is more than that. Something - someone - hurt you and I want to know about it. I care about you, Heero.”  
He couldn’t trust himself to speak - couldn’t trust himself to not spill the truth and he knew that would put an end to whatever feelings Duo thought he had for Heero. And Heero was selfish enough, lonely enough and hungry enough, that he pushed his desire to be honest away and shook his head.  
“Not today,” he managed to say, his voice thick with emotion.  
Duo nodded.  
“Okay, not today.” He lowered his sunglasses back over his eyes and turned to Trowa again, chuckling when he noticed that the other man was stroking himself through the cotton of his briefs, his erection straining against the thin fabric. “Let me drop anchor and then let’s go give Trowa some attention. He’ll never forgive us if we let him get off alone,” he muttered affectionately.  
Heero held the tiller steady while Duo dropped the anchor and then stood to follow him to the bow.  
Duo stopped him with a fierce kiss.  
“I want more than sex, Heero. And we can save the more for later - we can fuck each other all weekend - but I need more than that for this to work for me,” he said, and Heero didn’t need to see his eyes to know that Duo was being deadly serious.  
Of course, the problem wasn’t that Heero doubted his sincerity. The problem was that Heero was already completely in love with Duo and Trowa and knew that there was no way they would ever feel as intensely about him as they did each other, or as he felt towards them.  
So while Duo could say things like that, could even make plans for the future, Heero knew he was already on borrowed time.  
He kissed Duo back, pulling him close and running his hands over his sun warmed body. He let himself drown in Duo’s heat and strength and he tried to focus his entire existence on the feel and smell of him, of the firmness of his lips and the sharpness of his hips and the suppleness of his ass.   
-o-


	8. Chapter Eight

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
Smut, smut, smut… no but we’re about to come crashing back to reality so enjoy it while you can!  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

 

Entanglement  
Chapter Eight

Wednesday morning started off better than any work day in Trowa’s recent memory.  
When he rose from bed, Duo pulled him back down and they spent the next forty minutes fucking, and as a result he arrived late to the gym, the taste of Duo’s cum still in his mouth and an undeniable ease in his shoulders as he thought that finally things were getting back on track for them, that the long weekend with Heero at the Cape, the pornographic quantity and quality of sex they had had, had helped he and Duo get back on level footing again.  
By the time he arrived at the gym, Heero was halfway through their normal swim ladder, but Trowa joined him anyway, and it felt good to work out again after so many days away from the pool.  
When they finished, Heero waited for him and they sat in the hot tub together, as they always did, but there was an awareness, a renewed sense of sexual tension, that kept them silent and their eyes glued to each other.  
The showers were as empty as they usually were this early in the morning, and Trowa gave in to the urge he had had for months now and followed Heero into his stall.  
Heero pushed him up against the cool tile wall and kissed him like a drowning man desperate for water.  
Trowa pulled him close, running his hands down Heero’s firm, wet body and reveling in the heat and power of his frame.  
Heero started to kiss his way down Trowa’s neck and chest, biting and licking at his nipples and then kneeling in front of him. He peeled down Trowa’s jammers and turned his attention to Trowa’s cock, licking it and then sucking on it while Trowa buried his hands in Heero’s hair.  
He closed his eyes, giving in to the pleasure of Heero’s mouth on his flesh, and he wished, not for the first time, that Duo came to the gym with him. He fantasized about the three of them sharing this shower, huddled under the warm spray of water while they fondled and kissed and fucked each other.  
He came with a groan only moments later, the mental image of Duo fucking him while Heero sucked him off sending him over the edge.  
Trowa pulled Heero to his feet and kissed him, tasting himself on the other man’s lips.  
Heero smiled against his mouth.  
“Morning,” he said, their first words.  
Trowa chuckled.  
“Good morning,” he responded and let his hands get to work pulling down Heero’s black jammers.  
Heero reached around to Trowa’s ass, running his fingers along the sensitive flesh between his cheeks.  
“Do you mind?” Heero asked, his fingers tracing the tight ring of muscle.  
“No,” Trowa assured him and he turned around to face the tile. They didn’t have any lube, but Heero wet his fingers under the spray of the shower and took his time preparing Trowa, slowly and gently inserting first one finger and then another, rocking them against Trowa’s prostate until he could feel himself growing hard again.  
Heero entered his slowly, sinking in one inch at a time, and Trowa fought to hold himself still, to let Heero set his pace, and soon Heero was pushing into him with slow deliberation, torturing both of them.  
“God, you feel so good,” Heero breathed against Trowa’s back, kissing his spine.  
“You too,” Trowa tried not to moan. He braced himself against the wall with one hand and used his right to start stroking himself.  
Heero’s right hand joined his, their fingers tangled together, and Heero started to pick up the pace of his thrusts, angling himself in deeper, and they stroked Trowa’s cock in time with his motions.  
They came together, with Heero biting down on his shoulder and Trowa biting down on his own left hand to avoid crying out, and they slumped together against the wall of the shower while they recovered their breath.  
“We need to do this every morning,” Trowa finally said.  
Heero nodded against his back.  
“You should convince Duo to start running on the track here at the gym.”  
Trowa snorted.  
“I’ve tried. He runs by the Hudson – he likes the solitude and being outdoors too much to ever use an indoor track.”  
When they left the shower the locker was still empty, and they dressed in quiet. Trowa savored Heero’s presence and the tired, sated feel of exercise and sex – he felt better than he had in months.  
“You and Duo have court this afternoon?” He remembered as they walked out of the gym.  
Heero nodded.  
“Opening statements for the YSI trial.”  
“You’ll get to see Duo in court for the first time, then,” Trowa said with a smirk. “You’ll have to tell me how long you make it before you’re mentally undressing him and fantasizing about screwing him in the witness stand.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow at him.  
“How long did you last?” He asked.  
Trowa shrugged.  
“I didn’t – we were interns together for two weeks before we were ever allowed to sit in court and watch a case – by that point I was already a goner.”  
He smirked, thinking back to that first day in court, and the way that Duo had leaned forward towards Treize Khushrenada and suggested he try a different tactic with his witness. Treize had looked ready to crucify him on the spot, but he had actually taken Duo’s advice and it had won the case for him. Trowa seriously doubted Treize had ever forgiven Duo for that.  
They walked to the office in companionable silence, navigating the pedestrian traffic and still managing to stay next to each other, brushing shoulders and hands and thighs and it reminded Trowa of the first year he and Duo had been associates. They had spent their last year of law school in a long distance relationship, with each of them saving up and trying to fly out to visit the other whenever they had a long weekend. They had spent two weeks of Christmas vacation together, holed up in Trowa’s apartment in Stanford, fucking and talking and talking and planning for the future. It hadn’t been until the summer before they started at MLG that they had been able to see each other for more than those two weeks. They had still had separate apartments that first year, across town from each other, but they spent almost every night together, and every morning walked into the MLG offices together, smirking at each other and brushing against each other discretely in the elevator or by their cubicles.  
Trowa felt that same kind of anticipation now, with Heero, and he stood close enough to Heero in the elevator that he could feel the heat of his body.  
Heero leaned back against him, settling his ass against Trowa’s crotch, and it took every bit of self-restraint he had to keep from pulling the emergency lever.  
He contented himself with kissing the back of Heero’s neck and biting his earlobe, earning a shudder and a gasp from the shorter man.  
When the elevator doors opened at the floor for MLG, Alex Trant was standing on the other side, a stack of papers in his hands and a distracted look on his face that quickly turned into a confused scowl when he noticed how closely Heero and Trowa were standing to each other.  
Trowa tried to discretely ease away as Heero stepped forward, but Alex’s eyes narrowed and he spun on his heel and marched away.  
Heero arched an eyebrow at him and Trowa shrugged.  
“Let him go,” he advised and Heero nodded in agreement.  
They parted ways at Heero’s office, and Trowa was intercepted by Stacey as he approached his own office.  
The paralegal had a concerned look on her face.  
“Everything okay?” He asked her and she shook her head in the negative.  
“Duo’s had a wretched morning so far,” she told him.  
Trowa checked his watch.  
It was only nine-twenty – how much had possibly gone wrong in twenty minutes?  
Trowa set his bags in his office, nodded a greeting at Susan, his secretary, and then looked into Duo’s office.  
Alex was standing in front of Duo’s desk, gesturing wildly, and Duo was glaring at him with his typical lack of patience.  
“Good morning,” Allison greeted him, not even bothering to look up from her computer screen. “His morning is already full – do you want me to squeeze in time for you before lunch?”  
Trowa fought the urge to roll his eyes.  
He loved Allison, loved the way she treated Duo like a king and protected him with a ferocity that sometimes intimidated him, but he didn’t always appreciate her efforts to make him schedule time to speak to his own husband.  
“I’ll wait for Alex to leave,” Trowa told her, earning a glare from Allison.  
He didn’t have to wait long – Alex said something, gave another furious hand gesture, and then threw his hands up in disgust when Duo looked at him blankly and muttered something.  
Alex turned and stormed out of the office, pausing to glare at Trowa on his way before storming down the hall.  
“What on earth did you do to upset Alex?” Allison asked.  
“No idea,” Trowa lied.  
He could feel his good mood and his good morning evaporating as he stepped into Duo’s office and took in the tense set of his shoulders, his narrowed eyes, and his tie, loose and slightly askew.  
“Hey,” he said and closed the door behind himself.  
Duo looked up and his expression was somewhere between angry and exasperated.  
“Hi,” Duo growled and then turned his attention to the three huge files on his desk.  
Trowa stepped closer.  
“YSI information?”  
“No,” Duo snapped. “Divorce cases. Thomas shoved them at me as soon as I came in this morning.”  
Trowa winced in sympathy. Duo hated to work on divorce cases and he was unfortunately an amazing negotiator. Darlian had often joked that he wanted Duo to work on divorce cases full time, to which Duo not-so jokingly replied that he would rather quit and sell hotdogs on the street corner. As it was, Duo handled a fair number of the high profile divorce cases that found their way to MLG, but he had made a bargain with Darlian – for every divorce case he won, Duo got to spend an equal amount of time on pro bono work.  
“I’m sorry,” Trowa said.  
“Me fucking too,” Duo said. He opened one of the files, but immediately snapped it closed again and looked up at Trowa. “I also got a call from the adoption agency. We’ve been approved.”  
Trowa blinked.  
“They said it would take at least six months –“  
“I know. But apparently we impressed the hell out of them or something because they want to set up a home visit for next week.”  
“Okay.”  
They had always planned on adopting after one of them was named senior partner, and after Relena had been promoted and shipped off to London, Duo had started to research adoption agencies and set up interviews.  
Over the last half year they had gone to meetings and interviews with more adoption agencies than Trowa could remember, but Duo had his heart set on one agency in particular, and they had fought like hell to get an interview with them last month, when they had been told that the screening process would take at least six months.  
“Okay?” Duo’s voice was dangerously calm. “I just had Vandy walk in here and tell me that he thinks you’re having an affair with Heero – we just spent the last four days fucking like rabbits – who the fuck knows what you and he were doing in the damn elevator to send Vandy through the roof – and you think it’s okay that the adoption agency wants to do a home interview next week?”  
“I’m sorry about Alex,” Trowa said, hating the ginger haired man just a little more than he already had. He sighed. “What do you want me to say? That it’s not okay?”  
“I don’t fucking know, Trowa.” Duo scrubbed at his eyes. “Everything was perfect yesterday and now – what the fuck are we doing? Are we seriously going to have a threesome with Heero? Is this – is this our thing now? How often is he going to share our bed – how often are you going to fuck him? We’re not – we’re not the same people who planned to adopt a kid and buy a house, Trowa. Heero doesn’t fit in with that – and I don’t have a single fucking clue what to do, here.”  
Trowa wasn’t used to seeing Duo this off-balanced. He was always short and more than a little bitter when dealing with divorce cases, but this was clearly more than that – Alex’s accusations, the adoption agency call, the reality of the end of their weekend at the Cape – Duo was clearly struggling to come up with a plan.  
Trowa sighed.  
“I don’t either,” he admitted, and he saw Duo clench his jaw so hard a muscle jumped.  
Duo started to say something, but then he caught himself and shook his head.  
“I can’t figure this shit out today. I’ve got the YSI trial starting this afternoon and I need to spend the rest of my morning wading through these failed marriages and I can’t – I can’t think about us too.”  
Trowa nodded in understanding.  
“Okay.” He hesitated, wanting to reach out and touch Duo, but decided against it. “We can talk tonight, at home.”  
Duo looked at him with tired eyes.  
“Not tonight. I told Vandy I’d have a drink with him at the bar – I’m going to have to get completely shit faced to survive that. I don’t want to have this talk if I’m not sober.”  
“Okay. That’s fine.”  
Trowa reluctantly turned and left Duo’s office, convinced he was doing everything wrong, but unable to figure out what to do.  
He sat down in his own office and started to go through the messages he had accumulated over the long weekend and tried to figure out what he was going to do.  
Duo was the one who made plans, who pushed for things and fought. Trowa wasn’t used to seeing him this dispirited and he hated the gnawing feeling that he had done this to Duo.


	9. Chapter Nine

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.

Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

 

Entanglement  
Chapter Nine

“I was in a threesome once.”  
It took every ounce of self control Duo possessed to swallow the sip of beer he had taken instead of spew it out onto the bar counter.  
Slowly, he turned to look at Vandy.  
“What?”  
Vandy shrugged one shoulder casually.  
“Yeah man, back in college. Me and Tom - my roommate - and Sarah, this girl he was dating. We hooked up for a few months but then it got weird because Tom and I just wanted to fuck and she would just be there, in the way, you know?”  
Duo could only stare, unable to process Vandy’s words or the mental images they conjured.  
They were at The Green Monster, the Red Sox bar Duo had found years ago, and Duo was on his fourth beer of the night. They had been at the bar for two hours now, long enough to watch the Red Sox lose to the Mariners, long enough for Vandy to list ten ways his uncle could fire Heero and Trowa each, long enough for Vandy to pull up a PDF copy of Duo and Trowa’s prenup - long enough to avoid answering Duo when he demanded to know how and why the fuck Vandy had that on his phone, long enough for Duo to realize that the only way to convince Vandy that Trowa wasn’t cheating on him with Heero was to just tell him the truth, long enough to relate the events of their anniversary and all of the months of tension and flirting since and the glorious weekend of sex at the Cape and Duo’s complete inability to figure out what the hell happened next.  
“But it’s not like you’re going to have that problem,” Vandy continued.  
Duo had to arch an eyebrow at him.  
“I’m not?”  
“Nah. I mean - Trowa would be insane to leave you for anyone and it’s clear Heero can’t sit in the same room with you without mentally undressing you.”  
“Yet you thought it was perfectly logical for Trowa to be cheating on me with Heero. Without my involvement.” Duo pointed out.  
Vandy shrugged again.  
“Yeah, but that’s because I saw them together.”  
Duo sighed.  
Of course, that was the problem - Duo had seen them together too, just Heero and Trowa, and he knew the two of them fit together in ways that Duo and Trowa didn’t.  
Vandy arched an eyebrow at his expression.  
“What, you think Trowa would leave you for Heero?”  
Duo glared at his beer glass to avoid answering.  
Vandy snorted.  
“Dude - Trowa’s wanted to be with you since the first day of our internship. Now that you’ve got him, he’s not going anywhere.”  
“Then why do we have this new person in our lives?” Duo growled.  
Vandy sighed.  
“You know why you’re so good with divorce cases, D-man?”  
Duo winced at the nickname, but shook his head in the negative.  
“Because you always think the worst of people. And that’s what you’re doing right now - when in fact, maybe this is an opportunity. Think of it like a merger.”  
Duo gave him a look.  
“You’re the one who handles all of those things,” he pointed out.  
Vandy smirked.  
“I know - you’re good at pulling shit apart and I’m good at putting it together.”  
Duo had never really thought about it like that, but in a lot of ways it was true. He handled far too many divorce cases for MLG for his tastes, but Vandy was the counsel who prepared paperwork for almost all of the corporate mergers that their clients put together.  
Duo sighed.  
“Okay. If this is a… merger, then what am I supposed to be thinking about?” He still didn’t follow Vandy’s analogy, but, considering his own inability to wrap his head around just what he, Trowa and Heero were doing, it might be worth listening to someone else’s perspective on it.  
“Pros and cons, D-man. Right now Barton-Maxwell seems to be performing well - what would be the benefits of throwing He-man into the mix? What about the cons?”  
Duo swallowed hard.  
“Well, we couldn’t adopt. There’s no way any agency would allow two gay married men and their third partner adopt a child.”  
Vandy stared at him.  
“I was sort of going for the whole you feel insecure thing -”  
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to think the worst of people here,” Duo groused.  
“Right. No, we’re still doing that. You just jumped ahead of my next seven arguments.”  
Duo bit back his immediate instinct to point out that he was always ahead of Vandy’s arguments.   
“D-man. You’re thinking long term problems - like big picture shit.”  
Duo scowled.  
“I thought that was the -”  
“You seriously see this becoming something permanent?”  
“What else would it be? Why else - it’s already more than a one night stand.”  
“Right. But it could be like - some couples take cooking classes or try different sex positions. Maybe you and Trowa are just -”  
“No. Heero isn’t some class or kink to keep things interesting,” Duo snapped.  
Vandy arched an eyebrow.  
“Duo.”  
Vandy hardly ever called Duo by his name.  
“Alex?” Duo never called Vandy by his name.  
“You’ve got it bad, man,” Vandy said.  
Duo glared at him.  
“I know that already.”  
“Like Trowa bad - you really fall hard don’t you?”  
Duo continued to glare and Vandy just shook his head.  
“So if you’re already ready to change your life plans then what’s the hold up?”  
Duo sighed and tried to figure out how to admit his fears without sounding completely pathetic.  
“D-man. You’re my bro. Just tell me.”  
Jesus. It was Vandy - not Trowa, not Heero - he didn’t need to worry about sounding pathetic to someone who called him D-man.  
“Trowa was ready to never even give us a chance until I forced his hand,” Duo began.   
“So you think he doesn’t want a -”  
“No. He wants Heero. Obviously. And I guess I do too but-"  
"D-man, are you resisting this because you don't want it? Or because it wrecks your carefully made plans and not having a plan makes you totally lose your shit?"  
Duo glared at Vandy. He hated that the other man could read him that well.  
"So you gave me your one big con- aside from the really stupid insecurity shit- now what would the pros be?" Vandy prompted him.  
"He's a great lawyer and he's amazing in bed," Duo said.  
Vandy gave him a look.  
"He's good for Trowa," Duo admitted.  
"Yeah?"  
“Yeah - his billings have never been higher. Ever since Heero started working at MLG Trowa has been kicking some serious ass.” Trowa had always been one of the best lawyers at MLG, but he didn’t share Duo’s competitive streak or his desire to become a named partner and run the firm one day. Trowa had his own standards for success, and Duo had tried, very early on, to push him down the same path Duo envisioned for himself, but that had almost led to the end of their relationship and he had backed down. But now, with Heero at the firm, it wasn’t as if Trowa had suddenly grown competitive - it was more like Heero’s presence gave him the confidence to push himself even more.  
“Okay, work aside… is he good for Trowa?”  
Duo had to nod in agreement.  
“They work out together every morning - they have since the day Heero started and…” Duo drew in a deep breath for his next admission, “and I know likes the company. They’re friends and Heero fits with Trowa and gives him - I don’t know, I don’t know what it is but Trowa needs him.”  
“What about you?”  
“Huh?”  
“You just told me why Heero’s good for Trowa, what about you?”  
That was harder to discuss, but Duo ordered another beer and decided to just spill his guts once and for all.  
“He doesn’t let me run away - he fights with me and he forces me to face the shit I don’t want to.” It wasn’t just Heero’s insistence that Duo talk about what had happened to him in therapy - it was their prep work for the case, it was every day at the office and over the weekend - Heero was willing to fight to keep Duo there, to make him understand, and Duo hated that he needed that - needed someone who thought he was worth fighting for.  
“You know, I’ve always felt kind of bad for Trowa,” Vandy said after a few minutes of silence.  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Why?”  
“Because you’re a lot to handle.”  
Duo glared at him.  
“Thanks, Vandy, that’s -”  
“Don’t get your panties in a twist. I meant it as a compliment. You’re a genius, you’re stupidly hot, you’re driven at work and ready to fight for the people and things you believe in and you expect the most out of everyone around you. That’s a lot for someone like Trowa to handle. He’s quiet and I’m pretty sure he’d be happy to live in a cabin the middle of the woods and never speak to anyone but he had the misfortune to fall for you.”  
Duo had always suspected the same about Trowa - he was a great lawyer and he had no trouble keeping up with Duo when they went out to party, but he always seemed happier to get home, or to be at the Cape, or buried in his work.   
“What are you saying?”  
“I’m saying, Trowa needs the backup. He needs Heero to help him keep you from losing your shit and you need Heero to keep Trowa from isolating himself.”  
Put like that, it made perfect sense.  
“But what the hell are we giving Heero? Vandy - Trowa and I are married. We’ve been together for five years and we had plans for the future and -”  
“And Heero’s the only one who can decide what he wants from this, D-man. Same thing for Trowa, so you’ve got to stop being a lawyer on this one and just think about what you want.”  
“You make it sound so fucking easy,” Duo groused.  
Vandy shrugged.  
“Drink a few more beers and maybe it will be.”

-o-

When Duo woke up his head was pounding and something wet was scratching his face.  
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself face to face with the ugliest cat he had ever encountered. It was a huge, gray and ginger beast that stared at him with yellow-green eyes.  
It took a moment for Duo to figure out where he was - Vandy’s couch - and to recall why he was on Vandy’s couch.  
They had stayed at the Green Monster until last call, and Vandy’s offer to let Duo use his couch had been damned appealing considering that he still didn’t know what he wanted and really couldn’t face going home to Trowa after the way he had exploded on him that morning.  
“Morning sunshine,” Vandy greeted him, fully dressed and bearing a mug of coffee.  
Duo accepted it gratefully and gently shoved the cat off his chest so he could sit up.  
“What time is it?” He asked.  
“Just after eight,” Vandy told him, sounding too damned cheerful considering the amount of beer they had consumed just hours ago.  
“Fuck,” Duo scalded his tongue on the coffee. He had to be in court at ten for the YSI case. That gave him barely enough time to pull himself together.  
“Feel free to use my shower, but I need to head out - I’m meeting Lou for breakfast.”  
Duo stared at him and swallowed down a mouthful of coffee and his pride.  
“Thanks for last night, Vandy. I -”  
Vandy waved his hand.  
“No need to thank me, bro. I’m here for you - duh.”  
“Right.”  
“Anyway, put out some towels for you - see you at work?”  
Duo nodded.  
“I’m in court most of the day, but I’ll swing by your office,” he promised.  
Vandy smirked, saluted him, and left.  
Duo stared at the cat as he finished his coffee.  
Last night had helped put things in perspective for Duo - but Vandy was right - not having a plan for the future did make Duo lose his shit and he had absolutely no idea how to just jump into something like this that would completely alter the rest of his life.  
He finished the coffee and showered, taking just long enough to scrub himself down, and then texted Allison to ask her to set out his extra suit at the office - there was no way he could show up in court in the same clothes he had worn yesterday, but he didn’t have enough time to go home, to the office and make it downtown to the courthouse on time.  
By the time he made it to MLG he was running tight on time, but he pulled up his email on the computer while he changed into the new suit and read over the notes Heero had taken the time to send out last night after their opening statements.  
He was in the middle of pulling on a clean shirt when his office door opened and Trowa stepped in, a concerned scowl on his face.  
“Hey,” Duo greeted him. Trowa looked rough - the skin under his eyes was dark and his skin was pale, as if he had spent the night without much sleep.  
“You didn’t come home last night,” Trowa said, his voice neutral.  
Duo winced. That voice was never one that Duo enjoyed having directed at him - it meant he had done something wrong and Trowa was trying to avoid revealing just how much it affected him.  
“Yeah, by the time Vandy and I left the bar it was -”  
“You always come home, no matter how bad our fights are, you’ve never not come home.”  
Now there was emotion in Trowa’s voice, raw, aching hurt that made Duo feel like an asshole.  
“Trowa -”  
“Duo, I can’t -”  
“Am I interrupting something?”  
Heero stepped into the office and Duo would have found it all amusing if he wasn’t sure Trowa had just been about to say something Duo absolutely could not stand to hear.  
Trowa held his gaze, clearly waiting for Duo to decide what to do.  
“We have to be in court in twenty minutes, Tro.” Duo finished buttoning his shirt and shoved it into his trousers before pulling on his vest. “I - I’m going to come home tonight.”  
Heero’s brows pulled together in confusion and he looked over at Trowa. Clearly he hadn’t told Heero about Duo’s absence during their morning workout.  
Trowa looked far from satisfied by Duo’s words.  
“I’d like it if we can all talk, tomorrow night. Actually talk this time,” he added, “maybe we can’t plan out what the hell we’re doing, but I need something to go on,” he looked at Trowa, willing him to understand.  
Trowa held his gaze for a moment and then nodded.  
“Fine. I can cook? You two are in court all afternoon.”  
Duo nodded in agreement and starting to tie his tie.  
“Heero? Is that okay with you?”  
The other man had a guarded expression on his face, but he also nodded.  
Duo realized that he might have seriously fucked this up - he had been the one to suggest they all go to the Cape in the first place, but as soon as they returned to reality he had run away from Trowa and from Heero.  
Duo grabbed his briefcase and leaned in to kiss Trowa.  
“I’m sorry,” he said.  
Trowa kissed him back, more than a hint of desperation in his action, and Duo had to swallow hard and force himself to follow Heero to the elevator.  
He might be on the verge of fucking up his own life, but he needed to pull himself together and get ready to face down Zechs.   
Yesterday had been barely civil, as he and Zechs each tried to convince the jury that their clients were innocent and the opposing counsel was an evil, manipulative bastard. Through it all, Heero had sat at the table beside him, offering comments or suggestions, but letting Duo take the lead and do his job.  
Duo had worried, more than once over the last few months, that Heero would try to take over or to force him to do things his way, but Heero hadn’t - he had followed Duo’s lead every step of the way.  
As they rode in a cab to the courthouse, Heero pushed his knee against Duo’s and rested his hand on top of Duo’s on the seat between them.  
“I want more than sex, too,” Heero said, his voice low.  
Duo turned to look at him.  
“I don’t know what happened yesterday - you were amazing in court but you were clearly a wreck before we got there and after we left - but I want more than sex and I don’t want to drive you away from Trowa or your life together.” He drew in a deep breath. “I can still walk away from this, if -”  
“No,” Duo finally decided. “You’re not walking away from this. None of us are. I just need to get my shit together.” He drew in a deep breath and threaded his fingers through Heero’s squeezing slightly for a moment. “But right now I just want to focus on kicking Zech’s ass in court today.”  
Heero smirked at him.  
“Fine by me. You focus on kicking his ass and I’ll focus on mentally undressing you and fantasizing about fucking you in the witness stand.”  
“Trowa shared that little kink of his with you?” Duo asked.  
Heero nodded.  
“I’m pretty sure I would have come up with it on my own anyway,” Heero assured him.

-o-  
By Friday night, Duo was exhausted. Zechs Merquise was an amazing lawyer, completely cutthroat, and ready and willing to twist the testimony of every witness to suit his arguments. It took all of Duo’s concentration to just keep up with him and try to crack holes in Zechs’ biased version of events.   
Despite his assurance to Thomas Darlian months ago that he could handle Zechs on his own, he was beyond grateful for Heero’s presence. He had great insights into what Zechs was planning and he even seemed to follow Duo’s own tactics and logic without needed to discuss their plans. He really was a great partner, and Duo thought they really might have a chance to win this case.  
Of course, as he and Heero climbed out of a cab at seven that night and Duo escorted Heero through the lobby of his building and towards the elevator, he put the case at the back of his mind and tried to focus on this instead.  
They rode the elevator in silence, and it reminded Duo of that night all those months ago when Heero had stepped into the elevator and Duo had dropped to his knees and started to mouth Trowa’s cock through the fabric of his trousers.  
Heero arched an eyebrow at him, and Duo knew he was thinking about the same thing.  
When the elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor, Duo led the way to their apartment, and as he opened the door he could smell the familiar, lemony-garlic smell of sauteed chicken. Trowa didn’t enjoy cooking as much as Duo did, but the meals he did make were amazing, and Duo always looked forward to the nights when Trowa cooked.  
He set his briefcase down by the door and gestured for Heero to do the same.  
“We’re home,” he announced and Trowa stepped out from the kitchen, wearing Duo’s apron over his suit pants, his dress shirt still on but rolled up at the sleeves and open at the neck. He looked sexy as hell, but after a tense, silent night between them last night, Duo knew that forgoing an actual conversation for more sex wouldn’t solve anything.  
“It smells amazing,” Heero spoke up.  
“It tastes just as good,” Duo assured him. “Wine?”  
Both Heero and Trowa nodded and Duo went into the kitchen to open a bottle of white wine and pour glasses for each of them before setting the table.  
“So… I want this to work for us,” Duo said once they were all seated and had taken a few bites of dinner. He didn’t want this conversation to be put off any longer, and discussing this over dinner meant even less chance of distraction.  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
“I do too,” Heero said.  
“But I don’t know how and that frankly freaks me the fuck out,” Duo admitted. “I plan everything - and I’m not saying we need a plan here, but we need something. I need some kind of idea of what this thing is we’re doing.”  
“Our threesome?” Trowa asked.  
“Yeah. Is this - are we just doing this on the weekend? Is this a permanent thing? Are we -”  
“He’s trying to make a plan,” Trowa said to Heero.  
Heero nodded, his lips twitching upwards at the corners.  
“Seems that way.”  
“I told you,” Trowa added.  
“You two already talked about this?” Duo had to ask.  
Trowa nodded.  
“This morning. We decided a few things.”  
Duo didn’t know whether to be irritated that he hadn’t been involved or relieved that he didn’t need to make all of the decisions.  
“Such as?”  
“Such as Heero and I aren’t going to fool around anymore without you.”  
That had Duo fighting back a sigh of relief.   
“Thank you.”  
“And you aren’t going to run away every time something happens with us,” Trowa continued.  
Duo scowled at him.  
“This isn’t just about the three of us, Duo, this is about us. If Heero hadn’t insisted on going to the grocery store with you last weekend we all know the weekend would have been a disaster. If I didn’t let you run away from us whenever you don’t want to deal with something we wouldn’t be where we are now.”  
Duo had to nod in agreement.  
“And I’m going to talk more, about what I want, and what I’m feeling,” Trowa added after a moment of silence and a sharp look from Heero.  
Duo had to look over at Heero. He wondered just how Heero had managed to convince Trowa to say that - to acknowledge the need for it - and he wanted to be angry over the fact that he had been fighting with Trowa for years over these things and it took Heero to bring them to this point, but he found he wasn’t angry. He was relieved and when Heero smirked at him Duo felt borderline euphoric.  
“So… schedule wise…” Duo prompted eventually.

-o-


	10. Chapter Ten

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.

To the Anonymous reviewer of Chapter Nine: Oh, Suits… I watch it for Gabriel Macht’s mouth, hair, ass and jawline. Sometimes it has great writing but most of the time it disappoints the shit out of me. Except for the suits - because damn, the costume designer does a great job with those. And speaking of Gabriel Macht, who I could look at all day, wouldn’t he make an amazing Batman/Bruce Wayne or is this just me? Listen to his voice - look at his mouth and eyes and I just… got very distracted from writing the chapter to write this note. Moving on. Thank you for the review!

Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

 

Entanglement  
Chapter Ten

“Now this - this is why I wanted the two of you working together on this case,” Thomas Darlian chuckled and proudly held up a copy of the New York Times. On the front page, just below the fold, was a photo of Duo and Heero standing on the steps in front of the New York City courthouse bearing the headline “Lawyers fight for the rights of juvenile criminals.”   
It wasn’t exactly a glowing headline, but it was a headline that posed Duo and Heero as the good guys, and, more importantly, didn’t even mention Zechs Merquise by name. It was no wonder Darlian was so happy, and it certainly explained why Gina had frantically called Heero an hour ago to tell him to get his ass in the office right away because Darlian wanted to see him.  
Of course, an hour ago, Heero had still been in bed, wedged between Duo and Trowa. They had all missed their morning workouts when Trowa refused to let Duo get up and go on his morning run, and as a result they had found other ways to work up a sweat. It wasn’t the first time this had happened over the last six weeks, and as much as Heero actually enjoyed working out with Trowa at the gym, he would gladly deviate from his routine if it meant more mornings like this one.  
Duo, standing beside him in Darlian’s office and somehow managing to look like he had put hours into his appearance instead of the fifteen minutes after Allison had called him and he had rushed the both of them out of the bed and the apartment, smirked at him as Darlian continued to praise them.  
“Wrap this trial up by Christmas and we can start off the new year with even bigger cases for you two to take on.”  
That took Heero slightly aback. While he wasn’t opposed to working with Duo again - hell, he would love the chance to - he didn’t want his entire focus at MLG to be second chair on Duo’s cases.   
Duo’s smirk lost some of its intensity.  
“Thomas, I think Heero and I -”  
“Duo. This isn’t about Trowa, so don’t -”  
Duo scowled.  
“I know, what - why would it be about him?”  
Darlian arched an eyebrow.  
“I know you want to work with him on cases, but his clients don’t really need multiple attorneys - these professional athletes he brings in like his personal touch. I’m not sure -”  
“No, I know, Thomas, and that’s not what this is about. I just think that Heero and I - we’re a great team - but we have our own clients to think of and -”  
“So you’re saying you wouldn’t want to work together on a human rights violation case?” Darlian asked, bringing Duo up short.  
Duo looked over at Heero.  
Heero had gotten to know Duo very, very intimately over the past eight months of working at MLG, but he had already known Duo by reputation before that, and he had definitely already known that Duo Maxwell liked to save people.  
Duo arched an eyebrow, silently asking Heero to chime in.  
Heero knew Duo was driven, knew he wanted to run this firm some day - but then, so did Heero. And he wasn’t sure that co-chairing cases with Duo was the best way to move his way up the ladder. Still, he didn’t think he could pass up the chance to work with Duo again, not on something that big, or that important to him.  
He sighed.  
“I would certainly be willing to work with Duo again on a case that helped build MLG’s reputation,” Heero said carefully, “ but I agree with what Duo started to say previously - we have our own clients to focus on as well and I think this firm will benefit more from the two of us acting independently than as just a team.”  
Darlian looked between them, a speculative look in his eyes, and he smirked slightly and ran a hand over his jaw.  
“Yes… I see. Treize and I were actually having a very similar conversation about the two of you just yesterday…” Darlian shook his head and chuckled. “Great minds think alike, I suppose?”  
Heero had absolutely no idea what Darlian was hinting at, but the mention of Treize made his blood run cold.  
Duo unobtrusively stepped closer to Heero, nudging his shoulder slightly, a concerned look on his face.  
“Exactly,” Duo said to Darlian, “so… we’re going to get back to those other clients for now, and keep you updated on the YSI trial.” He clapped a hand on Heero’s shoulder, squeezing slightly. “Right, Heero, buddy?”  
Heero nodded in agreement.  
“Excellent!” Darlian said and sat down at his desk, spreading the paper out and chuckling gleefully. “I’m going to give Tsubarov a call and make sure he’s seen the paper.”  
Duo and Heero took that as their cue to leave, Duo’s hand still on Heero’s shoulder, and they were halfway to Duo’s office before either of them spoke.  
“What the hell was that about?” Duo asked.  
“I have no clue,” Heero responded, and he hated that neither of them knew what Treize Khushrenada was planning.  
“Fuck. I’ll get Allison on it. It’s probably nothing,” Duo added, and then winced when Heero glared at him.  
“You suck at lying,” Heero informed him.  
Duo smirked.  
“Not the only think I suck,” he said and winked.  
Heero shook his head. Duo really was irresistible.  
Duo finally let go of his shoulder.  
“I’ve got to get back to work - more of these damned divorce cases. Oh - don’t forget, we need to finalize plans for Trowa’s birthday next week.”  
Heero nodded and watched him go, passing by Trowa’s office and waving casually at him before throwing himself behind his own desk and glaring at the files stacked on it.  
While Heero didn’t have anything as loathsome as divorce cases waiting for him on his own desk, he was working on a hostile corporate takeover plan that he wasn’t exactly eager to get back to, so he stopped by Trowa’s office.  
“What was the emergency?” Trowa asked when he looked up and saw Heero leaning against his open door.  
“Darlian wanted to congratulate us on making the front page of the Times,” Heero said and sat down in the seat across from Trowa’s desk.  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“He’s going to spend the rest of the day making Tsubarov eat shit for stealing you away from him.”  
Heero nodded.  
“He’s already on the phone with him.”  
Trowa smirked.  
“Of course he is. Thomas loves to gloat - and putting you and Duo together was a brilliant plan.”  
Heero frowned, thinking back on the end of their conversation.  
“That’s what he said too, until Duo and I told him we wanted to work independently - and then Darlian said that Treize had mentioned the same thing.”  
Trowa’s eyes narrowed.  
“Mentioned it in what context?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“I have no idea, neither does Duo.”  
“Hm.” Trowa set down the file he had been holding and leaned back in his chair, a look of concentration on his face. “I wonder if…” he trailed off and looked at his computer screen with a frown.  
“Wonder if…?” Heero prompted him.  
Trowa shook his head.   
“Nothing. Just something - it’s nothing,” Trowa repeated again and looked away from the computer and back at Heero. He arched an eyebrow. “Are you hiding in my office because you don’t want to go back to your hostile corporate takeover case?”  
“Yes,” Heero growled and Trowa chuckled, the deep sound sending a jolt of lust through Heero’s body.  
“If Duo has to suffer through divorce cases, then you have to deal with hostile corporate takeovers.”  
“And what do you have to suffer through?” Heero groused, but got to his feet, knowing Trowa was right.  
“I have to suffer through the two of you whining about your divorce and hostile corporate takeover cases.”  
Heero glared at him.  
“Tell you what. You and Duo toil away on the most evil things ever and tonight I’ll let the two of you do whatever you want to me.”  
Heero had to arch an eyebrow at that offer. He knew that he had been harboring some fantasies about things he would like to do to Trowa’s body - he wondered just what he and Duo could come up with if they put their heads together. More often than not, Trowa took the lead in sex, telling Duo and Heero what to do and how to do it, and it was sexy as hell and worked - it seemed - for both Duo and Heero. But Heero would definitely like the chance to turn the tables on Trowa.  
“Now that I’ve given you something to look forward to,” Trowa said with a smirk, “maybe you can find a way to take over this company and completely crush the hopes and dreams of the man who made it from scratch and has invested his entire life savings in it?”  
“You’re evil,” Heero told him, but he took the offer and left Trowa’s office and returned to his own.  
He had just sat down behind his desk and opened the file he had been avoiding when Gina stepped into his office.  
“Wufei Chang is the phone - he said something about me being a complete moron and you clearing your entire schedule to talk to him?” Gina looked less than thrilled, and Heero could perfectly picture Wufei saying exactly that.  
“Put him through,” Heero said, unable to kill the smile on his face at the thought of hearing Wufei’s voice again.  
Gina arched an eyebrow in displeasure.  
“You aren’t a complete moron and I will tell him that,” Heero hastened to add.  
Gina sighed, shook her head, and stalked from the office.  
He waited for her to signal him and then picked up the phone on his desk.  
“Hello? This is Heero Yuy and I’m far too important to take a phone call from a mere literary academic who -”  
“Oh shut up, you insufferable prick.”  
Heero chuckled and heard Wufei do the same.  
“How is Germany?”  
“Still in Europe, I imagine.”  
“You aren’t still there?”  
“No, I took a position with Columbia a few months ago. I’m in New York City… and apparently so are you.”  
“I had no idea.”  
“Neither did I until I saw your face on the cover of the New York Times this morning.”  
“Yes, about that me being too important to -”  
“Can it, Yuy. I haven’t seen you nominated for any Pulitzers lately.”  
“You should have won,” Heero said.  
“Obviously. But a book about treehouses is somehow more important than an exploration in - it doesn’t matter. I’ve moved on,” Wufei cut himself off.   
“It’s good to hear your voice,” he said, sincerely.  
“Yours as well,” Wufei replied. “How would you like the chance to see my face again too?”  
“When?”  
“Tonight? Dinner?”  
“Only if it’s not some pretentious French restaurant,” Heero said.  
He could practically hear Wufei roll his eyes.  
“I’m not going to some hole in the wall sushi restaurant, either,” Wufei negotiated.  
“Mexican?”  
“Brazilian?”  
“Cuban?”  
“Done. Cuba, on Thompson Street,” Wufei said.  
“Seven?”  
“I’ll see you then.”  
As Heero hung up he couldn’t help but smirk. He hadn’t thought Wufei would ever be in the same city as him again - and the chance to go out to dinner with him, to catch up, to bait him into snarky comments - it made Heero’s day even better.  
He was still smirking and in a good mood when Duo dropped by his office that afternoon, looking rumpled and frustrated after having battled with the divorce cases all day.  
“You’re too damned happy to still be working on your corporate takeover case,” Duo said. “Even with Trowa’s promise to let us have our wicked way with him tonight - what the hell has you in such a good mood?”  
“An old friend called.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow and then smirked.  
“Did he see your photo in the paper and wants to show you off now?”  
“No. Wufei isn’t like that. Probably he saw my photo in the paper and just wants to give me shit about it because it hasn’t happened before.”  
Duo nodded.  
“Sounds like my kind of guy.”  
Heero glared at him and Duo chuckled.  
“Anyway, I’m taking off in a bit and thought I’d stop by to make sure we’re on the same page about torturing Trowa tonight. I figure we’ll have dinner and then attack or should we just skip dinner and turn him into a sushi table or something for us?”  
“I’m actually meeting Wufei for dinner,” Heero said, reluctant to say no to either of those plans because they both sounded good.  
“Oh - no worries. So, raincheck on tonight I guess?” Duo’s usually mobile face was curiously blank.  
“No, I’m still coming over - if I can?”   
Duo rolled his eyes.  
“Yeah, of course you can. You don’t have to ask like that. In fact,” Duo fished in his pocket and pulled out a key, “just - you know. You’re there a few nights a week already, there’s no need for you to - I mean, if you don’t want the key then -”  
Heero took the key from him.  
“Thank you,” he said.  
Duo smirked and shrugged.  
“Anyway, don’t be too late - unless you want me to go ahead and tie him up and have him ready and waiting for you when you get there?” He added with a wink before leaving Heero’s office.  
Heero stared at the key Duo had given him.  
For the last six weeks Heero had spent three or four nights a week with Duo and Trowa at their apartment, and while most of those nights were filled with sex that kept them up too late or made them late for morning workouts and meetings, some of that time was spent doing completely mundane things like eating dinner, washing dishes together, watching sports games with Duo while Trowa read.   
Heero enjoyed any time he spent with the two men, but he always felt like a guest, and the knowledge that at any moment they could decide to end this relationship with him and go back to their regularly scheduled lives weighed heavily on him.  
Duo giving him a key… it wasn’t an invitation to move in, it wasn’t even an indication that they would ever get to that point, but it was something, and Heero had never expected even this much.

-o-

“So who are you seeing?”  
The question took Heero completely by surprise, but judging from the look on Wufei’s face, he had been waiting to ask the question for most of the night.  
Dinner had been great, their conversation as snarky and loaded with innuendo as it had always been, and Heero had enjoyed sitting across from Wufei, looking at him smirk and laugh, and he had a stir of nostalgia and lust for the man who he had dated for two years in law school.  
“Why do you ask?”  
Dinner was over and they were walking together towards Central Park, enjoying the October night air.  
Wufei arched an eyebrow at him.  
“Because you keep checking the time on your watch and you haven’t followed up on any of my hints to come back to my apartment.”  
“I –“  
Wufei held up a hand.  
“I’m not offended, Heero. If we’ve moved past that phase in our relationship then fine. I’m available and certainly wouldn’t mind having you in my bed and my life again, but if you aren’t then I suppose I can settle for being your friend. You need someone to keep your head from getting too big, after all.”  
Heero rolled his eyes but then found himself sighing.  
“I am… sort of seeing someone.” He didn’t think he could call it a relationship – it was a threesome, so there was nothing traditional about it, but more than that – Duo and Trowa were the ones in a relationship and Heero just happened to be orbiting around them. He touched the new key on the key ring in his pocket. Unless this meant he was part of them now?  
“Ah.”  
Heero glared at him. He had always hated when Wufei did that – reply in a monosyllable that said far more than it should.  
“What?” He demanded.  
“Nothing. I assume it’s someone you work with? Your boss? Or is he married?”  
“Why would you assume that?”  
Wufei gave him a patronizing look.  
“You jumped at the chance to have dinner with me – which either means that your schedule is completely open because you aren’t seeing anyone – or that you are seeing someone that you don’t need to check schedules with because you know that your plans won’t matter to them.”  
“Jesus, Wufei. I jumped at the chance to have dinner with you because I haven’t seen you in six years. It wasn’t –“  
“So I’m wrong?”  
Heero sighed and angrily ran a hand through his hair. Why was Wufei always like this?  
“No – and yes.”  
“You can’t just leave it at that, Heero.”  
“I’m not dating my boss.”  
“But he’s married?”  
“Yes,” Heero allowed. He wondered if he should just tell the entire truth – that he was seeing two men who were married to each other, but the look of disapproval on Wufei’s face answered that for him.  
“You’re worth more than that, Heero,” Wufei snapped, anger in his voice.  
“It’s not –“  
“It’s not like that? What the hell is wrong with you? Not only are you disrespecting the vow someone made to honor their partner – but you – you are accepting an affair as all that you are worth? What happens when he goes back to his spouse? What happens when he –“  
“I don’t know!” Heero interrupted him. “I don’t know, Wufei! All I know is that being with th – with him isn’t something I can walk away from.”  
Wufei stared at him for a long, silent moment.  
“What happens when he walks away from you?”  
Heero swallowed hard.  
“I don’t know,” he admitted. He thought about it almost every day – he knew that eventually Trowa and Duo would go back to their lives, would get back on track with whatever plan Duo had for their future, and he had no idea what the hell he would do when that day arrived.  
“Heero –“  
Wufei’s voice sounded apologetic.  
“Don’t,” he growled and stepped away. “You’re right. It’s my own fault and I don’t want your pity – but I also don’t need your judgment. Not on this.”  
Wufei looked at him for a long, tense moment before nodding.  
“You’re right. I haven’t seen you in six years and – and whatever I want for you is immaterial except that I want you to be happy. I’ll withhold my pity and my judgment.”  
Wufei held out his hand, and Heero rolled his eyes but shook it.  
Wufei smirked.  
“Still, we both know you deserve better and we both know that better is me.”  
Heero had to chuckle. Wufei had always been irritatingly cocky – so self-confident that he made Heero seem self-conscious. It was one of the things that Heero always found annoying about him, but it was also now – as it had always been – a turn on.  
Wufei used their joined hands to pull Heero closer.  
“Wufei,” Heero warned.  
Wufei arched an eyebrow, amusement and challenge in his dark eyes.  
“If kissing me once is going to have that kind of impact on your relationship then maybe you –“  
Heero kissed him, silencing Wufei with the only method that had ever proven effective.  
Wufei tasted like the beer he had been drinking with dinner, like anger and challenge and it filled Heero with a rush of feelings. He missed this – the constant struggle of just making it through an hour with Wufei without wanting to kill him or fuck him. He missed the strength of his lean body, the smoothness of his lips, the heat of his mouth and the press of his tongue.  
Wufei pulled away first, a satisfied, slightly dazed look on his face. And Heero remembered that that was his favorite part of kissing Wufei – that look of faintly surprised contentment, as if he didn’t think it was possible for anyone to satisfy or please him and Heero just had.  
Heero brushed a finger over Wufei’s lips and the other man leaned into his touch.  
“I’ve missed you,” he said, not for the first time that night.  
“Then come home with me,” Wufei said and stepped back, out of Heero’s reach.  
Heero hesitated. After that kiss – after this night – he wanted to. But Wufei wasn’t the same as Duo and Trowa. As much as Heero wanted Wufei – he needed Duo and Trowa on a level that he couldn’t begin to express.  
“No,” he decided.  
Wufei sighed and shook his head.  
“When you realize you’re making a mistake, call me, Heero.”  
And with that, Wufei turned and walked away.  
Heero watched him melt into the pedestrian traffic and he was torn. Wufei was exciting and challenging – great in bed and amazing to have in his life, always ready to push him. But Duo and Trowa… they were intoxicating, individually and together, and the moments when Heero felt like he belonged with them, to them, were more perfect than anything he had ever experienced.

-o-

By the time he made it across town to Duo and Trowa’s apartment it was almost eleven, and as he fit the key into the lock for the first time he debated just turning around and going home. It was late. He was tired. He had too much on his mind and –  
The door opened and Duo stood on the other side, wearing flannel pajama bottoms and a faded Princeton t-shirt.  
“Hey. I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it,” Duo greeted him, his blue eyes searching Heero’s face.  
“It’s late,” Heero started to say. “Maybe I should just –“  
“Come in,” Duo interrupted him, opening the door wider and taking Heero’s briefcase from his hand.  
Heero followed him into the apartment and spotted Trowa, also in pajama bottoms but without a shirt, reclining on the couch, reading a book that he set down at Heero’s entrance.  
“Hey,” Trowa greeted him, his voice a little hesitant.  
“So I was thinking,” Duo spoke up when Heero didn’t respond.  
“Always dangerous,” Trowa murmured, earning a mock glare from Duo.  
“Maybe we can take a rain check on having our way with Trowa.”  
Heero looked over at him.  
“You don’t mind?”  
“Why would I? He’s not going anywhere. Plus, you kind of look like you’ve had a shitty night.”  
“Kind of,” Heero agreed. It hadn’t been shitty, until the end, when he realized just how completely fucked he was.  
“I thought you were meeting your friend,” Trowa spoke up.  
Heero sighed and approached the couch. He sat down beside Trowa, who shifted positions and gestured for Heero to lean against him.  
Heero settled against him, leaning his head against the crook of Trowa’s arm and pressing against the warmth of his body.  
Duo sat down on Heero’s other side, a slight frown on his face as he looked at Heero.  
“I did,” Heero said.  
“And…?” Duo prompted.  
“And…” Heero sighed. He really did not know what to say about his dinner with Wufei to Duo and Trowa - he didn’t want to tell them about the concerns Wufei had raised, concerns that Heero battled every day, and he sure as hell didn’t want to tell them that he had kissed Wufei.  
Duo picked up Heero’s right foot, slid off the shoe and sock, and started to massage the sole.  
“Well, if you’re looking for a subject change to save you from having to tell us what happened,” Duo said, “then I’m happy to gloat about the fact that I’m done with divorce cases until January.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“Weren’t you working on four?”  
“Yep. And they all reached settlements today.”  
Behind Heero, Trowa chuckled.  
“Have you picked out your pro-bono cases yet?”  
“Saving that for tomorrow. I’m going to have my associate pick them out.”  
“Your associate?” Heero asked. All partners were encouraged to use the associates on their cases, and while Duo did use associates every once in a while - more than Heero certainly - Heero hadn’t noticed him using one often enough to call the associate his.  
“He means my associate,” Trowa muttered. He moved one hand to Heero’s head, threading his fingers through Heero’s hair absently.  
The combined sensations - Duo massaging his feet and Trowa his head - lulled Heero into contentment.  
“Hey, Mark went to Yale. That makes him my associate.”  
“Except he worships me, not you,” Trowa pointed out.  
Duo scowled, but instead of answering he removed Heero’s other shoe and sock and started to massage that foot.  
“Anyway,” Duo said eventually, and Trowa leaned his head over to press a kiss against the back of Heero’s neck. “Don’t you dare tell him to let me think what I want,” Duo warned when Trowa leaned towards Heero’s ear.  
“I wasn’t going to,” Trowa said, laughter in his voice.  
“You were saying?” Heero prompted Duo when he continued to glare at Trowa.  
“I was saying that I’m going to have Mark start looking for cases tomorrow.”  
“Be careful he doesn’t just poach them for me,” Trowa muttered.  
Duo shook his head in disgust.  
“How about your hostile corporate takeover?” Trowa asked Heero. “Figured out how to dismember that company yet?”  
“Yes,” Heero sighed. “I sent over my proposal before I left the office.”  
Duo’s hands drifted past Heero’s feet and up his ankles to his calves and continued his massage.  
“Which undoubtedly put you in a great mood to meet your friend,” Duo suggested.  
Heero shook his head.  
“It’s my job - things like that don’t get to me.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Really? Every single one of these divorce cases gets to me.”  
Heero believed that completely - it was one of the reasons the cases made Duo so miserable, and it was also a reason he was so good at resolving them.  
“This isn’t a divorce - well, it’s not between real people.”  
“I think the founder of the company would beg to differ,” Trowa pointed out.  
“Yes,” Heero allowed. “But I can’t think of him - he’s not my client.”  
Duo nodded and tugged on Heero’s legs until he lifted them onto Duo’s lap. Duo continued to massage his calves, but moved his hands to the outside of Heero’s pants and started to work his way up to Heero’s thighs.  
“Sure,” Duo agreed. “Still sucks to end a man’s dreams.”  
Heero glared at him, but Duo just shrugged.  
“I’m only saying - it sucks. Every time you destroy something that people took the time to make.”  
“Yeah,” Heero finally agreed, because Duo was right. As much as Heero didn’t want to let these kinds of cases affect him, he did sympathize with the founder of the company he had been hired to strip for parts and sell off to the highest bidder.  
Duo’s hands were kneading the flesh of Heero’s thighs and it was impossible for Heero not to think about how close those hands were to his cock. From the tilt of Duo’s lips, he was clearly thinking the same thing.  
Apparently so was Trowa. His hand drifted from Heero’s hair down to his shirt and started to unbutton it.  
“I thought we were taking a raincheck tonight?” Heero asked.  
“We’re taking a raincheck on the Trowa thing. Never said I wasn’t going to have my way with you,” Duo said with a wicked smirk. “Unless you aren’t up to it?” He asked, his expression turning serious.  
Trowa’s hand, halfway through unbuttoning Heero’s shirt, stilled.  
“No, I’m up for it,” Heero assured them.   
“Good,” Duo said, smirk back in full force, “because I’ve been hoping for a late night snack before I go to bed.”  
He ran his hands up to the waist of Heero’s pants, running his hands over Heero’s growing erection, and started to unfasten his belt.  
Trowa finished unbuttoning Heero’s shirt and spread it open before running his hand over Heero’s skin, nails just scratching in the way that always made Heero’s breath catch.  
Duo pulled down the zipper of Heero’s pants and then used both hands to pull them down his hips, taking Heero’s boxer briefs with them.  
Trowa pinched Heero’s right nipple and Heero gasped at the sensation, pushing back against him and arching his hips in the process.  
Duo moved out from under Heero’s legs and crawled over him, still smirking, and took hold of Heero’s erection.  
Duo leaned towards Heero, and Heero met him halfway, their lips fusing together and Heero knew that this was what he wanted - what he needed.   
Duo’s tongue traced over his lips, hot and teasing, and Heero opened his mouth to him, ready to drink him in and be overwhelmed, as he always was when Duo kissed him.  
Trowa shifted, turning on the couch so that he could pull away Heero’s shirt entirely and then he started to lick and kiss Heero’s right ear, neck and shoulders while his hands still teased Heero’s nipples.  
Duo pulled away from the kiss and his eyes were dark with arousal.  
“Now, about that snack,” he said and replaced his hand with his mouth, licking the head of Heero’s cock.  
Heero moaned at the hot, wet carress.  
Trowa pulled him back so that Heero was nearly on his lap and kissed him, his tongue tracing the same path as Duo’s across his lips and into his mouth.  
Heero buried his hands in Trowa’s hair, pulling his head closer and let his tongue tangle with Trowa’s in the now familiar dance.  
Duo licked down the length of Heero’s cock and then took him into his mouth, tongue and lips running the entire length of Heero’s cock until he could feel himself nudging the back of Duo’s throat.  
Duo hummed in enjoyment when Trowa reached down to tangle his hand in Duo’s hair.  
Duo set a slow pace, seeming to savor each moment when he pulled back and then bobbed back down along Heero’s length, sucking him just like he was a treat he wanted to make last.  
When Heero did come, Trowa swallowed his cry of release while Duo swallowed the rest of him before releasing him with a satisfied smirk.  
“Maybe next time you won’t hesitate before using your key?” Duo suggested.


	11. 11

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

This chapter… anyone interested in some angst and some smut? Yes? Then you came to the right place.

Entanglement  
Chapter Eleven

Trowa was very good at telling when people lied to him. He had also had years of experience in trying to figure out why people lied to him. He had always been able to tell when Duo was lying to him, or when Duo had something on his mind he didn’t want to talk about - or when he was planning something, which he clearly was.  
The morning of Trowa’s twenty-ninth birthday dawned gray and overcast, a typical late October day, and Duo kissed him goodbye before leaving the apartment for his morning run, letting his tongue and lips linger on Trowa’s while his hands ran down his back and squeezed his ass. The very fact that Duo hadn’t deviated from their normal routine - hadn’t begged him to stay in bed or offered a birthday blowjob to start out the day as he had in years past - cued Trowa into the fact that Duo was planning something.  
Trowa wasn’t bothered by that, and he didn’t put much energy into trying to figure out what it could be - when Duo planned surprises, they were always amazing, and if he was planning something for Trowa’s birthday, then Trowa was content to go through the rest of his day until it was revealed.  
However, Trowa was bothered by the fact that Heero was lying - not just to him, but to Duo as well.  
Last week Duo had given him a key to their apartment, and while Heero had used it three times since then, every time he walked in the door he had a slight frown on his face, a guarded look in his eyes, and it had taken Duo coaxing him out of his clothes to coax him out of that look each time.   
Duo assumed it was because Heero was uncomfortable with what having a key meant - he thought he had pushed things too fast, like he usually did, and that Heero didn’t necessarily want that kind of commitment.   
Trowa wasn’t so sure that was the case, but clearly something was going on with Heero that had him reconsidering their arrangement.   
He could tell that Duo was trying to keep from freaking out about it - he caught him looking at Heero with a confused, hesitant expression throughout their days and nights together - but he wasn’t quite sure how to comfort Duo, especially since he was confident Heero wasn’t entirely happy with their arrangement anymore, either.  
Heero wasn’t as easy to read as Duo, but Trowa had noticed the way he seemed to tense up whenever Trowa and Duo kissed or touched in front of him. It was different than the beginning of their relationship - that first weekend on the Cape when Heero had watched them kissed with a hungry, lonely look in his eyes.   
When Trowa met Heero at the gym that morning he looked tired, as if he had spent a sleepless night his own bed, and Trowa frowned. Duo had invited Heero over last night, but he had turned him down, citing casework. Trowa had known he was lying, but he hadn’t pushed him on it. Seeing him now, Trowa wished he had.  
As per their custom, they didn’t speak until after they finished their swim and settled into the hot tub.  
“You were a bit slow today - feeling alright?” Heero asked him.  
Trowa frowned. He hadn’t thought he had been slower.  
“Was I?”  
Heero shrugged one shoulder.  
“Still good times for someone as old as you. I wouldn’t beat yourself up about it.”  
Trowa glared at him.  
“Duo told you to say that, didn’t he?”  
Heero’s lips twitched upwards.  
“I can’t make my own cracks about your advanced age?”  
Trowa rolled his eyes.  
“Listen, the two of you are what - three? Five months younger than I am? Enjoy this while you can, because when March rolls around I’m going to enjoy calling you an old man.”  
Heero shrugged.  
“Twenty-nine isn’t that old in any case. Plus, you’ll still be older.”  
Trowa sighed.  
“Duo has clearly been a bad influence on you,” he muttered as they rose from the hot tub and started towards the showers.  
“Speaking of Duo,” Heero said as they reached the showers. “I’m under specific instructions to make you come at least twice before we get to work today.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow at that.   
Ever since he and Heero had decided not to fool around when Duo wasn’t present they had kept things platonic at the gym. Knowing that he was going to take both Duo and Heero home most nights had made Trowa perfectly content to admire Heero’s body at the gym but keep his distance. He understood Duo’s fear of being left out - he had felt the same thing the night he had watched Duo and Heero dance together at 1OAK.   
But if Duo had given Heero specific instructions, he wasn’t about to question them.  
He pushed Heero into an open shower stall before closing them in.   
“Did he give you any criteria as to how you are going to make me come?” He asked.  
Heero smirked and turned on the shower, the sound of the hot spray easily masking their activities as well as providing some lubrication.  
“No, he left that up to me,” Heero said. He closed the space between them, stepping closer and then pulling Trowa’s body against his own under the shower.   
Heero brushed his lips over Trowa’s, soft and teasing.   
As Heero ran his hands over Trowa’s body, pinching his nipples and grazing over his abs before peeling down his jammers, it felt good enough and right enough that he was almost able to forget about the way Heero looked at Trowa and Duo together, about the way he hesitated before agreeing to come over at night, at the way he had made excuses not to come over three times since Duo had given him the key - three times more than he had ever made excuses in the past.  
Heero kissed his way across Trowa’s jawline and to his ear, taking the sensitive lobe between his lips and sucking gently before nipping at it.  
Trowa hissed in pleasure at the sensation.  
He felt Heero smirk against his skin before shifting to kiss his way down Trowa’s torso.  
As Heero teased his nipples, Trowa decided to focus on just this - the sensation of Heero’s talented hands and mouth on his body and the knowledge that Heero wanted this - wanted him, wanted Duo - despite whatever had him holding back.

-o-  
They were late getting to work, which meant that Duo smirked knowingly at him when he walked past his office to his own.   
It also meant that he was greeted with a stack of birthday cards and a vase of paperwhite Narcissus on his desk.  
He stared at the flowers. Duo never got him flowers, despite knowing that Trowa actually liked them. Sarah, his secretary, sometimes bought him flowers for special occasions, but she didn’t know that Narcissus’ were his favorite flower.  
Trowa picked up the card attached to the base of the square glass vase and opened it.  
Happy Birthday, HY  
Trowa swallowed hard against the lump in his throat.   
“How’s it feel to be only a year away from thirty?” Duo asked.  
Trowa turned around to see his husband leaning in the doorway, hands in his pocket and an uncertain smile on his face.  
“Thank you,” Trowa told him.  
Duo shrugged.  
“It was Heero’s idea, all I did was -”  
“Tell him. Thank you.”   
Duo looked uncomfortable so Trowa kissed him, trying to convey just how much Duo’s gesture - with the flowers, with his instructions to Heero earlier - meant to him.  
When he pulled away from Duo’s lips he was smirking, the uncertainty gone.  
Duo reached out to straighten his tie.  
“Well, now that you and ‘Ro are finally here, it’s time for us to head to court and kick some more ass in our YSI trial.”  
“You’re gone all day?” Trowa tried to remember.  
Duo nodded.  
“Yeah. Sorry, I know we wanted to do a lunch thing but -”  
“It’s okay,” Trowa assured him.   
He kissed Duo again, drawing it out and letting his tongue linger in Duo’s mouth, tasting him and caressing him until he could feel both of them growing hard.  
Duo’s eyes were heavy when Trowa pulled away.  
“Good luck kicking ass today,” Trowa told him.  
Duo snorted.  
“I think you mean good luck focusing on anything but that kiss today,” he muttered.  
“That too,” Trowa smirked.  
Duo chuckled and stepped away, shifting his pants unobtrusively to try to hide his half-erect cock.  
Trowa watched him walk down the hall and around the corner, towards Heero’s office.  
Once he was out of sight he turned to Sarah, his secretary.  
“Were you able to find out anything?” He asked her.  
She gave him a sharp look over the rims of her glasses.  
“Of course I was,” she said and reached into her desk and pulled out a blue folder. She passed it to him. “Not that you gave me much to go on,” she added.   
Trowa opened the folder.  
“Wufei Chang?” He read the name at the top of the Curriculum Vitae.  
Sarah nodded.  
“The only Wufei who was at Harvard while Heero Yuy was and currently lives in New York City.”  
Trowa scanned over the CV.   
“He’s a literature professor at Columbia?”  
“Yes,” Sarah sighed. “Do I need to read it out loud for you?”  
Trowa glared at her and she smirked.  
“Anyway, happy birthday old man.”  
“I hate all of you,” Trowa muttered.  
He took the file back into his office and sat down to read through it.  
It really was impressive that Sarah had managed to not only find the mysterious old friend of Heero’s named “Wufei” with absolutely nothing to go on other than his first name, location, and hint of a past relationship with Heero.  
Trowa flipped through the other pages in the folder. A few were print outs of of newspaper articles about Wufei’s books and his nomination for a Pulitzer two years ago - but the document that caught Trowa’s eye was the one bedroom apartment lease, signed by both Heero and Wufei, while they had been students together at Harvard.  
Old friend, Heero had called Wufei when talking to Duo.   
But how many friends did you share a one bedroom apartment with for a year?  
“Sarah,” he called out. “When are his -”  
“He teaches a class that ends this afternoon at 2:30 and his office hours are from three to five,” she answered. “Look at the last page. There’s a map with his classroom and his office.”  
Trowa flipped to the last page of the file, and sure enough, Sarah had included a map of the Columbia campus with the classroom and Wufei’s office marked in red.  
He considered just how crazy it was to track down this man, but as he hesitated he remembered how pale and drawn Heero had looked at the gym that morning. Duo might think Heero’s distance this past week was related to the key, but Trowa felt confident it could be tied back to Wufei Chang.  
He sighed.  
“What does my -”  
“I’ve cleared your afternoon schedule,” Sarah interrupted him again.  
Which meant he could either sit in his office and wonder about the relationship between Heero and Wufei, or he could actually go and meet this man and find out for himself.

-o-  
Wufei Chang had shoulder length black hair, wire rimmed glasses, and the physique of a male model. He was gorgeous, and as Trowa lurked outside of the open door to his office and watched Wufei irritably explain to a student just why they had failed a midterm exam, he couldn’t help but think that there was absolutely no possible way Heero and Wufei were just friends.   
He wished he had never come - it would have been far easier to convince himself that Wufei didn’t mean anything before he had seen him and heard his snarky comments. Heero loved snark, and Trowa could only imagine what sex between the two men was like.   
“Can I help you?”  
Wufei had finished with the student and was looking up at Trowa.  
Shit. He hadn’t wanted to actually speak to the man.  
Wufei arched an eyebrow and looked over Trowa’s attire, his flawless, expensive suit, tie and shoes and his lips pulled back into a sneer.  
“Ah. I see. You’re him.”  
It was Trowa’s turn to arch an eyebrow.  
“Him?” He stepped forward, to the threshold of Wufei’s office, unwilling to step into the other man’s domain.  
“The married man having an affair with Heero.”  
“I -”  
Wufei waved a hand.  
“Let me guess. Heero, honest to a damned fault Heero, told you he kissed me and you’ve come here to warn me off.”  
“No,” Trowa said honestly. Wufei’s words felt like a punch to his gut.   
“Really? Then why did you come?” Wufei leaned back in his desk chair and regarded Trowa over the rim of his glasses.  
Trowa had no idea. He had wanted to see Wufei - had wanted to know if this man could possibly be the reason for Heero’s discontentment - but he hadn’t wanted to know that Heero had kissed him. He hadn’t wanted to be confronted with his confidence and anger.   
Wufei’s gaze lost some of its harshness.  
“You really care about him.”  
“Of course I do,” Trowa snapped. “He’s - he’s the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time.” The best thing that had happened to him and Duo.  
“If you care about him - if you think he’s more than a body to fuck while you cheat on your partner, then stop having an affair with him. He deserves more than that. He’s too good for you.”  
“It’s not like that,” Trowa sighed. He wondered why Heero had told Wufei he was seeing a married man but hadn’t bothered to mention he was seeing both married men together. Then again, how exactly would he tell someone that? It sounded insane inside Trowa’s own head.   
“Really? Then how is it? Because all of us know how this ends - one day you go back to your wife? Husband?”  
“Husband, but -”  
“You go back to your husband and put all of this behind you and Heero’s left devastated because he fell in love with a bastard who couldn’t even love him enough to treat him decently and honestly.”  
The softness was gone from Wufei’s face, replaced once again by anger.  
“I’m not sure what Heero told you about me - about us - but he’s more than an affair and I don’t want to put him or this behind me. I want a life with him - we both want that.”  
Wufei stared at him and then slowly shook his head.  
“Tell yourself that - and I hope it’s true - but I also hope you consider just how much this costs him and your husband. Now, if you’re done sizing up your competition, I have students to see.”  
Trowa held his gaze a moment longer, but then shook his head and turned away.  
As he walked out of the academic building and across the campus he tried to sort through his emotions.  
Heero had kissed Wufei.  
Heero loved him.  
Heero was unhappy.  
Heero didn’t think Trowa loved him.  
Heero had kissed Wufei.  
Trowa had a moment of pure, selfish desire that it had been Duo who had thought to track down Wufei and experience this.   
He had absolutely no idea what to do with this new knowledge, with his conflicting reactions and the realization that things were not right.  
His phone rang, the annoying jangle that he had programmed in for Duo’s mother, Helen.  
Trowa swore. Of course she would call to wish him a happy birthday - however much she didn’t like him, Helen hated to let down Duo, and ignoring Trowa’s birthday altogether would certainly disappoint him.  
Trowa searched his pockets for the phone. He felt a thin, plastic rectangle in his left trouser pocket, but it was too thin to be his phone. He finally managed to dig it out of his jacket breast pocket after a few more rings.  
“Helen,” he greeted his mother-in-law smoothly.  
“Trowa. Darling.”   
Trowa fought back a snort at the complete lack of affection in her voice.  
“How are you?” He asked. He hated small talk and he knew Helen did as well - it was probably why they tried to torture each other with it every time they spoke without Duo present to referee.  
“I’m well. And you?”  
“Very well.”  
There was a tense pause between them before Helen sighed.  
“I wanted to wish you a happy birthday.”  
“Thank you, Helen.”  
“I assume things are going well with your work.”  
“Yes, of course.”   
“I saw Duo’s photograph in the paper last week,” Helen said.  
Trowa felt confident she had already framed a copy of it.  
“Yes. He and Heero are -”  
“Yes, Heero Yuy. What a fine attorney. How does Duo enjoy working with him?”  
Trowa sighed. Of course. Helen and her damn list of men she wished Duo had chosen over Trowa. He was tempted to lie, but there was no point and he would gain nothing but a single moment of petty satisfaction.  
“They are excellent partners.”  
“Ah. That’s so refreshing to hear. Duo needs someone who can challenge him and support him in his work.”  
Trowa clenched his teeth together. He challenged and supported Duo. He had since the days of their internship and he knew that Duo knew it, but five years was a long time for Duo’s mother to pretend reality was different from what it was.  
“Not that Duo needs anyone,” Helen continued, “he’s always been able to accomplish so much on his own.” She sighed. “That must be difficult for you, at times?”  
“What?” He wasn’t sure what her question was.  
“To try to live up to Duo’s potential.”  
“Yes,” he agreed, his teeth still clenched together. “It’s nice to know he believes in me, though.”  
“Hm. Of course. Duo has always had a soft spot for underdogs. In any case, please do extend an invitation to Heero to join us for Thanksgiving.”  
Trowa blinked.  
“At the Cape?”  
“Unless Duo wanted to have it elsewhere?”  
“No, we planned on having it at our house as usual.”  
“Excellent. Will your sister be joining us this year?”  
“Yes, actually,” Trowa was happy to inform her. If there was anyone Helen liked less than Trowa, it was his sister, Catherine Bloom. Catherine, who had turned thirty four in June, was an actress and dancer who spent most of her time touring the country, but for the first time in years her tour would be in Massachusetts during Thanksgiving and she was taking the time off to visit.  
“Oh. Well. We can certainly figure out sleeping arrangements for everyone.”  
The house only had two guest rooms, and it was on the tip of his tongue to suggest tell Helen not to worry, Heero would be sharing their bed. But he swallowed the impulse. Shocking Helen wasn’t worth it.   
Furthermore, would Heero be sharing their bed? Or would he rather be with Wufei?  
“Well. I really must run. Do give Duo my love.”  
“Of course. Thank you for thinking of me.”  
“Hm. Yes. Goodbye, darling.”  
Trowa ended the call with relief.  
Helen was more than he wanted to deal with on the best of days. But today, after having met Wufei - Trowa felt drained.   
He put his phone back into his trouser pocket and his hand again brushed over the thin plastic rectangle in his pocket.  
With a frown, he pulled it out to see what it was.  
It was a hotel room key, with the Four Seasons logo on one side and a sticky-taped note on the other.  
Six o’clock.  
The last time Trowa had found a hotel room key in his pocket had been the day of his and Duo’s second wedding anniversary. It had also been a key to the Four Seasons - and Trowa wished he remembered what their room number had been - and when Trowa had shown up at the appointed time Duo had stripped him down and proceeded to fuck him against the floor to ceiling window of the hotel room before suggesting they get dressed, go down to the hotel bar, and find someone to bring back up for the threesome Trowa had teased him about for years.  
The memory of that night, as usual, spiked his pulse. Of course, it also, as usual, made him think about Heero.  
Trowa swallowed hard and ran his thumb over the edge of the key.   
Damn it all to hell.   
Was he just supposed to pretend Heero hadn’t kissed his ex, whom he called an old friend? Was he supposed to pretend that Heero wasn’t unhappy, that he wasn’t unhappy now that he knew Heero was?  
And what the hell was he going to tell Duo? Who had just gotten past his own insecurities about this relationship enough to tell Heero to fuck Trowa alone and to tell Heero what his favorite flowers were?

-o-  
He ended up having a drink in the bar before going upstairs, hoping the gin and tonic would settle his nerves and quiet his turmoil, and as a result he was a few minutes late.  
When he opened the door to room 3217 - Duo had reserved the same room again - he found that he wasn’t at all settled, but the sight that greeted him erased all coherent thought from his brain.  
Years ago he and Duo had attended a Halloween party with Vandy - the first and only time they had gone to any party Vandy or his investment banker friends hosted - and Duo, dressed as a Musketeer, had suffered through an entire night of Vandy drunkenly telling Duo that he had wasted a perfect excuse to cross dress and the admission that Vandy fantasized about Duo dressed up like a female stripper. It had horrified Duo and amused Trowa, but at the end of the night, when Trowa took Duo home and let him indulge in his fantasy of having sex with a boy scout by keeping on his costume while Duo stripped out of his own, Trowa had admitted that he had fantasized a few times about Duo wearing stockings and a garter belt.   
Nothing had ever come from his admission, and the skeptical look Duo had given him when he said it had convinced Trowa he would never see Duo in garters and stockings.  
Except that was exactly what he was looking at now.  
Duo had his hair loose, the rich brown waves falling around his shoulders and down to the middle of his back, and he was completely naked except for a black garter belt and the sheer black thigh high stockings attached to it.  
He was kneeling on the bed, head thrown back in ecstasy while Heero licked a trail down his throat.  
Heero was also naked - except for a white garter belt and sheer stockings with white lace around the tops of his thighs.  
Trowa swallowed hard and belatedly realized the door was still open behind him.  
He kicked it closed, startling the two men.  
Duo looked at him and smirked, but Heero, after glancing over his shoulder to see who it was, returned his attention to Duo, swirling his tongue around his left nipple and teasing a moan out of Duo.  
“You’re late,” Duo panted.  
Trowa set down his briefcase and stepped closer to the bed.  
He could see their red, straining erections brush together and watched the way Duo’s breath caught and Heero shuddered.   
“Sorry,” he apologized, eyes riveted to their leaking cocks.  
“We started without you,” Duo continued and reluctantly pulled away from Heero’s mouth. “Join us?”  
But Trowa shook his head in the negative.  
“I’d rather watch first.”  
Duo and Heero exchanged self-satisfied smirks and Duo gestured to the armchair that had been pulled up close to one corner of the bed.  
“Heero thought you’d say that.”  
Trowa looked over at him and searched his face for some sign - some indication that he didn’t want to be here, that he was thinking of someone other than Duo or Trowa, but he saw none.  
“He was right,” Trowa agreed.  
He pulled off his jacket and laid it over the back of the chair before sitting down in the chair.  
Heero pulled Duo back against him, fingers digging into the pale flesh of his firm thighs, and Trowa watched them kiss, watched their hands tangle together and their cocks strain against each other, desperate for friction and pressure.  
It was incredibly erotic, and it would have been even without the addition of the costumes, but Trowa appreciated them - loved the way the garters and stockings framed their cocks and made their powerful legs look impossibly long and sleek.   
Duo’s hands wandered down Heero’s back, kneading the flesh he found until he reached Heero’s ass and his fingers gentled, teasing the space between his ass cheeks and then circling the ring of puckered flesh.  
Heero groaned into Duo’s mouth, loud enough that Trowa could hear him clearly, and shifted closer, spreading his legs wider and giving Duo better access and Trowa a better view.  
He could clearly see the glisten of lube and his own cock twitched at the knowledge that Heero and Duo had already taken the time to prepare for this.  
Duo eased one finger inside Heero, and Trowa watched Heero’s thighs and ass quiver and flex at the intrusion.  
“How do you want me to fuck him?” Duo asked, drawing Trowa’s attention away from Heero’s ass.  
Heero had his face pressed against Duo’s neck, his blue eyes almost as dark as Duo’s and they both looked to Trowa, waiting for instruction.  
“Just use your fingers,” Trowa told him.   
“Mhm.” Duo turned his face to Heero’s, kissing his forehead. “Think I can make you come with just my fingers inside you? Think I can make you cry out my name as you come all over my hard cock and my sexy garter belt?”  
“Please,” Heero gasped, Duo’s words and husky voice clearly having as much effect on him as they did on Trowa.  
Trowa had to shift in his chair, spreading his legs and adjusting his hard cock inside his trousers so that it wasn’t crushed under his wallet.  
Duo followed his motions with lusty eyes, but then he turned his focus back to Heero and started to slowly pump his finger in and out of him, his motions slow and shallow, still just teasing.  
Trowa found himself smirking at the impatient noises Heero made when Duo withdrew his finger, but then Duo added a second finger and Heero sighed in contentment.  
“Yeah, you like that,” Duo crooned to him. “You love my fingers finding that place, right there, that makes you crazy, don’t you?”  
“Yes,” Heero panted and then moaned as Duo continued to pump into him.  
“Mm, you feel so good. So hot and so damned tight, ‘Ro. Fuck I might come just finger fucking you. Just thinking about your tight, beautiful ass clenching my fingers and trying to pull me in.”  
Trowa was starting to think he might come just from listening to Duo talk and watching him torture Heero.  
“Think he deserves a third finger?” Duo asked Trowa.  
“Yes,” Trowa decided after watching Duo tease Heero’s rim with his fingers while Heero tried to press back against him.  
He watched Duo curl three fingers inside of Heero, watched the way Heero shuddered and rocked back against them.  
“So tight,” Duo said. “I want to put my cock inside you so bad, ‘Ro. I want to fill you up with my cock and feel your ass around me and I want to hear you say my name as you come, as your hot, white -”  
“God! Duo!” Heero cried out, his body jerking.  
“Yeah, that’s right. Come for me, baby,” Duo crooned again before kissing Heero, swallowing his gasp of release.  
Trowa saw Heero’s semen spurt out, coating Duo’s cock and and thighs and he felt his hips flex involuntarily, thrusting up, desperate for contact.  
“You’re so beautiful when you come, ‘Ro,” Duo said, easing his fingers out of Heero’s body.   
Heero regarded him with a sated, smitten expression and Trowa felt his heart skip a beat. That wasn’t the look of someone who wanted out.  
“Come here and let me clean you off,” Trowa told Duo, who smoothly rose from the bed and came to stand in front of Trowa.  
Trowa took hold of the garter belt and tugged him closer. He licked at the cum on Duo’s abdomen, catching it as it dripped down from his taunt muscles. He followed the trail down to Duo’s cock and took his time licking at it, teasing Duo until he was shallowly thrusting into his mouth.  
“Not yet,” Trowa told him as he eased him away.   
Duo actually pouted, but rejoined Heero on the bed.   
“I want to watch you fuck Heero again,” Trowa told him.  
“With my cock this time?” Duo begged.  
Trowa nodded and Duo grinned.  
“That okay with you?” Duo asked Heero.  
“Yes,” Heero assured him.  
Duo knelt down on the bed, his legs slightly spread, and then pulled Heero back against him, onto his lap, so that Trowa could see all of Heero’s body, from his flushed face, chest and neck to his erect nipples, soft cock and stockinged thighs.  
Duo eased himself into Heero slowly, and Trowa could see that too, could see Duo’s long, hard cock disappear into Heero, inch by inch, until he was completely seated.  
“Fuck you feel good,” Duo moaned.  
He put his hands on either side of Heero’s hips, fingers tangling with the garters, and slowly pulled Heero up before pushing him back down.  
Both men groaned, and Heero’s cock twitched.  
“Touch yourself,” Trowa told him, and Heero wrapped one hand around his cock, working himself fully erect again while Duo continued to fuck him.  
Trowa listened to them gasp and moan and his own breathing became shallow. He was so hard it was painful, but he was enjoying the two of them together too much to want to join in yet. They were beautiful, perfect together, and the knowledge that they were doing this for him made it even more erotic.  
Duo kissed the junction between Heero’s right shoulder and his neck and then bit down.  
Heero cried out in pain and pleasure and he leaned his head back against Duo’s shoulder, offering his mouth greater access.  
Duo continued to kiss and bite along that line, sucking on the tender flesh and Trowa was positive he was going to leave a mark.  
“I’m waiting for you,” Duo panted. “I want you to come again so Trowa can see your face, ‘Ro. Come for me. Come for him.”  
Heero shuddered and gasped, the movements of his hands on his cock and his balls becoming jerky and uncoordinated.  
“Tell Trowa how good it feels to be fucked, ‘Ro. Tell him how much you love my cock.”  
“Feels so good,” Heero moaned, head still thrown back and his voice thready. “Your cock feels so good in my ass. You’re so hard and big and I - I’m close,” he moaned.  
“Then come for us,” Trowa said.  
“I - ah! Duo - Trowa!” Heero’s entire body seemed to convulse with the force of his orgasm and he clenched his cock tightly, angling his cum onto himself.  
“Oh God, yes,” Duo moaned as Heero’s body spasmed around him and he too came. “Jesus you feel so good, ‘Ro.”  
Trowa watched them recover, leaning into each other and breathing heavily. Duo’s hands wrapped around Heero’s waist, holding onto him and keeping him upright.  
One of his hands rubbed against Heero’s semen and he chuckled before lifting the hand to his mouth and licking it clean.  
“You two are perfect,” Trowa had to say.  
Heero and Duo looked over at him.  
“We’d be perfect if you were on the bed with us,” Heero suggested and Duo nodded in agreement.  
“I’m comfortable here,” Trowa insisted.  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Your cock looks ready to break a seam in your pants, Tro. You’re not comfortable.”  
“I would be if you two joined me,” Trowa said.  
“With pleasure,” Duo responded.  
Heero crawled off of his lap, both men sighing when Duo’s spent cock pulled free.  
They rose from the bed and approached Trowa’s chair.  
“I still haven’t given you your birthday blowjob,” Duo mused as he knelt down and started to unfasten Trowa’s trousers. “Did you give him on yet?” He asked Heero.  
Heero shook his head in the negative.  
“Not yet.”  
Duo smirked and turned back to Trowa.  
“Looks like we owe you more birthday presents, then,” he said.  
Heero took hold of the right side of his trousers and Duo took hold of the left and together they tugged them down. Trowa lifted his hips to help them as they pulled down the trousers and then his briefs and his cock was finally freed.  
“Mm. Yeah. You are definitely in need of some birthday blowjobs,” Duo said. He pushed Trowa’s legs open and he and Heero reached for Trowa’s cock, their movements seemingly coordinated as their fingers laced together around his shaft and started to stroke him.  
Trowa groaned at the sensation. He had been hard for so long, watching them play and fuck, that he didn’t think he would last very long.  
Duo dipped his head forwards, licking their fingers and Trowa’s cock before taking him into his mouth, licking at his head and then sucking on it hard enough for Trowa to swear.  
“Fuck, Duo!”  
He felt Duo’s mouth form into a smirk around his cock, but he continued to suck on him while his and Heero’s hands drifted lower, teasing his balls and the sensitive flesh beneath.  
Duo pulled away after a moment, and Heero took his turn, his mouth and pressure completely different from Duo’s.   
Duo looked at Trowa, his gaze intense as they looked at each other over Heero’s head.   
Trowa reached out and ran his thumb over Duo’s jaw to his lips.  
Duo kissed it and then bit down gently.  
Heero was bringing him closer to orgasm, his talented tongue and tight, hot mouth fitting against Trowa’s cock in ways that had him thrusting into Heero’s mouth, unable to hold still.  
Duo’s fingers danced over his rectum, the tip of one finger dipping inside, and Trowa came with a hoarse shout.  
Heero continued to suck on him, easing off slowly and then sitting back on his heels.  
“Mind sharing?” Duo asked and leaned over to kiss him.  
Heero leaned in, opening his mouth to Duo.  
A knock on the door startled all of them.  
“Room service.”  
Duo reluctantly pulled away from Heero and stood.  
He was hard again, his cock red and the tip already leaking precum.  
“Why don’t you two hop in bed?” He suggested and picked up Trowa’s discarded trousers from the floor.  
Trowa rose from the chair and he and Heero followed Duo’s suggestion and climbed into the bed, pulling the sheets and comforter up.  
Duo didn’t wear Trowa’s clothes often - a few of his shirts and sweatshirts - and then sight of him in Trowa’s pants had Trowa smirking.   
Duo answered the door, ushered in the attendant who gave a casual glance at the bed before focusing his attention back on Duo as he paid him and then left them alone.  
“Champagne?” Duo picked up a bottle from the ice bucket on the cart.   
“What else did you order?” Trowa asked as Duo crawled onto the bed with only the bottle in hand.  
“Fruit and some chocolate - and some whipped cream. Heero and I have been wanting to cover you in cream for a while now,” Duo added with a wink.  
Heero chuckled and Trowa leaned over to kiss him, startling him for a moment, but then Heero kissed him back.  
Trowa tried to keep the kiss light - tried to not put his anxiety and his need for Heero into the kiss - but when he pulled back he could see that he had failed.  
Heero looked at him with a slight frown, clearly trying to figure out what was bothering Trowa.  
“Okay,” Duo interrupted the moment. “Here’s to Trowa, as he creeps into old age!”  
Duo released the cork with a pop and champagne flowed over his hand and down his body in a way that Trowa was positive was intentional.  
“Oops,” he said, not at all repetentent.  
“So much for glasses,” Heero murmured before leaning over to lick Duo’s arm.  
“Overrated anyway,” Trowa agreed and pushed Duo down onto his back before taking the bottle from him and pouring more champagne onto his stomach.


	12. Chapter Twelve

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
And the book Trowa is reading is Amberly’s fault, for posting about it on Tumblr and reminding me how much I completely love it.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Twelve

“I figured we should take advantage of Trowa being in Miami tonight and order some Mexican and watch the Jets-Patriots game.”  
They were in a taxi on their way to the courthouse, and Heero glanced up from his notes on the witnesses that YSI had already called to their defense.  
Duo had a hesitant, somewhat hopeful expression on his face and Heero hesitated. He wanted to say yes - he could think of no better way of spending the night than on Duo’s couch, watching the game, eating Mexican and then sharing Duo’s bed. But he also knew how dangerous that kind of night would be. Heero was struggling to keep some corner of his heart free from Duo and Trowa, and the more time he spent with either or both men the harder it got to keep his distance, to remind himself that one day soon all of this was going to end.  
“I’ve got some files I need to look over before tomorrow,” Heero said, not quite lying.  
Duo arched an eyebrow and then shrugged.  
“Sure - you can still do that with me? I’m not always trying to get in your pants,” he added with a smirk.  
“You say things like that, but every time you get home the first thing you do is start to strip,” Heero reminded him.  
Duo chuckled.  
“Okay. I promise not to strip right away. And… with Trowa in Miami I’m not sure we’d be doing anything more than fighting over the comforter in bed anyway.”  
And of course there was that. The fact that - with the exception of Trowa’s birthday - Heero and Trowa avoided intimacy without Duo’s presence and Duo and Heero avoided it without Trowa there. Heero understood - and he could sure as hell sympathize with the jealousy and loneliness both men no doubt felt when thinking of Heero with their partner because Heero felt it all the damn time. He didn’t have the right to demand time or attention from either man, and he didn’t have the right to express or even think about Duo and Trowa together, in their home, fucking and flirting and existing for each other the way they had since they had first met. Heero was the interloper, the one who had to settle for the crumbs thrown his way and hope they kept coming.  
He drew a deep breath and forced himself to put aside his anger. It wasn’t going to help anything.  
“I think I’d better just focus on work tonight,” Heero told him and Duo’s face betrayed his disappointment for a moment before his features smoothed out and he nodded in acceptance.  
“Of course. And you’ve got a key if you change your mind,” Duo reminded him.  
That damn key. It was such a tease - a taunt and Heero wished Duo had never given it to him. Heero knew Duo meant well, knew Duo had thought it would mean something to Heero - and it did. It meant that whenever Heero used the key, whenever he entered their apartment and discovered them - cooking, sitting, kissing, cleaning - Duo and Trowa stopped what they were doing and looked at him with guilty expressions. It meant that Heero was reminded every time he came over that, despite what Duo said about this being more than sex, that was primarily what this arrangement was about. And the sex was good - amazing really, the best Heero had ever had - but he needed to be more than an accessory to Trowa and Duo’s lives, and that damn key only seemed to emphasize the fact that that was all he was.  
They arrived at the courthouse after several minutes of tense, awkward silence, and Heero passed the files he had been reading over to Duo, who put them in his briefcase without looking at them. Heero was willing to bet he had already memorized them that morning or last night.  
“Hey,” Duo stopped him from getting out of the taxi.   
Heero looked back at him, at the earnest expression on his face, and he hated how much it affected him.  
Duo sighed, swallowed back whatever he had been about to say, and let go of Heero.  
“Sorry. Let’s focus on the case and proving what a fraud Zechs’ witnesses are today.”  
For the past month the case had been dragging on, as Zechs threw one expert witness after another onto the stand and Duo and Heero worked to discredit each other them. Thus far Heero felt they had been successful, but it seemed like Zechs was going for a war of attrition - trying to drown the jury in the opinions of law enforcement officials, medical doctors, wardens, and - today - psychologists.  
As they took their seats in the courtroom, Heero tried his best to put aside his anxiety over his relationship with Duo and Trowa and just focus on the case. With Zechs leading the defense they both needed to be focused.  
“Your honor, I would like to present a new witness. Dr. Marks, the expert witness I had previously planned to question today, has an urgent professional matter to deal with and is unable to attend this court for the foreseeable future,” Zechs stated as soon as the court was called in session.  
Heero frowned. It wasn’t like Zechs to call unreliable witnesses - and it wasn’t like Judge Amerson to allow those kinds of substitutions.  
“Mr. Merquise, it is highly unorthodox to -”  
“I know,” Zechs interrupted him. “And if it didn’t provide critical insight into this case, I wouldn’t pursue this matter, but I feel that in order to accurately present the mental state of these juvenile delinquents, we need to have an expert present their testimony.”  
Amerson sighed.  
“Very well. I will allow it.”  
“Thank you. The defense calls Dr. Giovani to the stand.”  
Beside Heero, Duo’s entire body went rigid.  
Heero frowned and turned to see a thin man, likely in his fifties, rise and approach the witness stand. His gray hair was cut in an unfortunate bowl cut and his long nose gave him a slightly sinister appearance.   
As he passed by their table he looked directly at Duo, his dark eyes unreadable.  
“Do you know him?” Heero leaned over to whisper in Duo’s ear as Giovani was sworn in.   
Duo remained silent, his body still tense and his knuckles were white from how tightly his hands were clenched together.  
“Dr. Giovani, you have been a practicing psychologist for how many years?”  
“Twenty five years,” Giovani responded.  
“And what is your primary field?”  
“My practice deals with children and juveniles, and I have worked with the New York legal system in the capacity of a court appointed counselor for twenty years.”  
“So you have experience dealing with juvenile delinquents?” Zechs asked.  
“Oh yes indeed,” Giovani said, and cast his dark gaze towards Duo again.  
“And in your opinion, do these delinquents often suffer maltreatment while serving their sentences?”  
Heero waited for Duo to object to the question - there was no way Giovani could speak to that with any real authority - but Duo remained silent.  
“Objection,” Heero spoke up. “The witness cannot possibly attest to what the victims are likely to have experienced without breaching patient confidentiality.”  
“Sustained,” Amerson agreed.  
“Very well,” Zechs said. “Dr. Giovani. Do you find that your patients ever feel targeted by individuals in positions of authority?”  
“Oh yes, many suffer from the irrational belief that the judicial system is unfairly prosecuting or punishing them.”  
“Hm. And do you find that they have ever exaggerated any wrong-doing by those individuals? Perhaps as an extension of this irrational belief?”  
“Objection,” Heero jumped in again, wondering what the hell was wrong with Duo. He was sitting there, staring at the table in front of him, letting Zechs paint their clients as irrational, lying delinquents who -  
Heero looked at Giovani again, assessed the way his gaze was still fixed on Duo, who refused to look up from the table in front of him, who looked on the verge of breaking his own fingers because of how hard he had them clenched, who hadn’t said a single word since Giovani was sworn in despite the fact that Duo tried to object as frequently as possible to every question Zechs asked his expert witnesses.  
“Sustained,” Amerson said.  
“Perhaps if we address a more specific issue? Dr. Giovani, have you ever had a patient claim any kind of impropriety - from you or other individuals working with the New York penal system - in an attempt to commute their sentence?”  
“Oh yes,” Giovani chuckled and Duo flinched beside Heero.  
“Hmm and do you find that in this case such actions were likely -”  
“Objection. Conjecture.”  
“Sustained.”  
Heero wondered what the hell was wrong with Duo. Why wasn’t he reacting to any of this? He sat there, pale and nonresponsive, looking as though he had seen a ghost.  
Son of a bitch.  
Giovani.   
Heero looked up to see Zechs regarding Duo with a faint, pleased smirk on his face.  
This wasn’t even about the case - it was about Duo. And the man who had raped him as a child was sitting on the witness stand.  
“Do you find that victims of traumatic events often struggle to return to normal lives?”  
“Oh yes,” Giovani said again, and Heero felt his skin crawl.  
“And the facilities that YSI runs - do you believe they in any way help these delinquents?”  
“Unquestionably.”  
“Your witness,” Zechs announced abruptly.   
It had been an impossibly short line of questioning - clearly Zechs had only called Giovani because of his relationship to Duo, and not in relation to the damn case at all.  
Heero scrambled to come up with a reason to delay the cross-examination.   
“I’d like to request a recess. We need time to check into Dr. Giovani’s credentials and -”  
“No,” Duo interrupted him, his voice as cold and jagged as ice. “We’ll cross examine the witness now.”  
He stood up, buttoned his jacket, and crossed the room to stand in front of the witness stand, his eyes anywhere but on Giovani.  
“You’ve worked as a psychologist for the last twenty five years?”  
“Yes. I already said that when -”  
“And in that time how many patients have you seen?” Duo interrupted him, drowning out Giovani’s voice.  
“Several hundred, I imagine.”  
“You imagine,” Duo echoed. He turned away from Giovani and paced in front of the jury, his movements slow, measured, and it was clear to Heero that Duo was just barely holding himself together.  
“How many times did your patients bring allegations of impropriety against you?”  
“Objection,” Zechs spoke up, his satisfied smirk faltering at Duo’s line of questioning.  
“Your honor, the witness spoke earlier of this matter, and it pertains to this case,” Duo spoke up before Amerson could say anything.  
“I’ll allow it,” Amerson conceded.  
“Well?” Duo prompted Giovani. “In twenty years of practice, how many times did the children entrusted in your care tell their parents you abused them or molested them?”  
Heero had no idea what Duo was doing, no idea how this pertained to their case at all and he didn’t see how Giovani would say anything that could ever satisfy Duo.  
“I don’t have the exact figures,” Giovani murmured.  
Duo nodded, still not looking at the man.  
“No, you’ve got other things on your mind, I’m sure. Does twenty-eight sound about right, though?”  
There was no way Duo had pulled the number out of thin air, especially considering the way Giovani’s entire body stiffened.  
“Hm. Guess that is about right,” Duo decided, still not looking at him.  
“I won’t ask you if any of the allegations had any merit,” Duo continued. “Since obviously as an instrument of the state - as a court appointed counselor who has the sole task of helping children recover and become productive individuals in soceity- you are above such impropriety.”  
Duo finally turned to look at Giovani, and Heero could see the glimmer of tears in his blue eyes, his face pale and skin taunt as he struggled.  
“But I will ask you this - do you regret it?”  
“Regret what?” Giovani sneered.  
Oh Duo. Heero wanted to call an end to this, wanted to get Duo out of this room and away from this man and -  
“The abuse that the children sentenced to serve terms in YSI controlled facilities suffered. Do you regret it?”  
“Objection,” Zechs growled. “We haven’t established any abuse actually occurred and this witness -”  
“We have stacks of medical documents and testimonies from the victims and the perpetrators,” Duo snapped. “And this witness -”  
“Had nothing to do with those incidents,” Zechs interrupted.   
“True,” Duo conceded. “He had nothing to do with the YSI children. No interaction with them - no way of knowing how honest they are or how ethical the YSI employees are. But I still want an answer to my question. Imagine you were involved in this case. Do you regret it?”  
Giovani stared at Duo for a long time, but he finally snarled in anger.  
“No.”  
Duo continued to look at him, clearly searching for something, but then he nodded and turned away.  
“I’m done with him,” he announced and walked back towards the tables, stopping to glare down at Zechs. “Try some cheap shit like that on me again and I’ll fucking bury you,” he said between clenched teeth.  
“Court is adjourned for the day. Court will not be in session next week due to the holiday and we will reconvene the following Monday to hear closing statements.”  
Duo threw his things into his briefcase and left the courtroom before Heero had a chance to even speak to him, and he was left alone at the table to watch Giovani and Zechs speak together in low voices and to wonder just how the hell Zechs even knew about Duo and Giovani.

-o-

“My client would like to settle.”  
“Really?”  
“Oh fuck off, Yuy. After what happened today in court, of course they want to settle.”  
Heero couldn’t help but feel grim satisfaction from the anger in Zechs voice.  
He sat back in his office chair and cradled the phone between his shoulder and neck. He wondered where Duo was and why Zechs hadn’t been put through to him. Maybe Zechs had wanted to speak with Heero instead? Considering the underhanded move he had pulled in court and the spectacular way it had backfired.  
“True,” Heero agreed. “Amazing how you picked an expert witness to throw off Duo and instead… he ripped your entire case to pieces and made the jury realize just how little you and your clients really care for the children in their custody.”  
“Will you take our offer or not?” Zechs sounded furious.  
“We’ll need time to consider it,” Heero said.  
“You have twenty-four hours.”  
“Forty-eight. You and I both know you need this more than we do.”  
“Fine.”  
Heero held the phone away from his ear, anticipating Zechs slamming down the receiver on his end, and he wasn’t disappointed.  
He allowed himself a moment to gloat. Zechs had always treated him as an annoyance - even in bed, Zechs had made it clear that he was irritated with Heero’s entire existence. It felt good to finally have done something to earn Zechs’ anger and irritation.  
Of course, it was really Duo who had done this - Duo who had miraculously pulled himself together and turned the tables on Zechs to save the day.  
Heero left his office and walked towards Duo’s, but as he approached he saw that it was empty.  
Allison didn’t even bother to look up from her work when Heero stopped in front of her.  
“Where is he?”  
“Out for the rest of the day,” she said.  
Heero frowned.   
“YSI just offered to settle and -”  
“I know. That’s why I put the call through to your office. Duo isn’t taking any calls.”  
That made Heero arch an eyebrow.  
More than once while Heero had been at their apartment Duo had answered calls in the middle of the night or early in the morning from his clients. He always took calls, even in the middle of a blowjob.  
“Where is he?”  
Allison gave him a look.  
“I don’t tell Trowa where Duo is when he doesn’t want me to - why am I going to tell you?”  
But that was all Heero needed to know - Duo didn’t want Heero to know where he was.   
Heero sighed and started to walk away.  
“What happened this morning?” Allison asked him, her voice low.  
“We went to court,” Heero said. If Allison wanted to play the game of who could keep Duo’s life more private, he would certainly play it with her.  
“When he called me… I’ve never heard his voice sound like that before.”  
Heero nodded in agreement, remembering Duo’s voice in court, his brittle determination.  
“I’d like to speak to him,” he told Allison.  
“You and me both,” she muttered.  
“He isn’t taking your calls either?”  
She shook her head.   
That was more than a little troubling. Heero wondered if he should consider calling Trowa- but what would he say? Duo had disappeared and not even Allison knew where he was and it was probably because he had had to face his rapist on the witness stand today. He couldn't see any of that going over well with Trowa- or with Duo when he found out Heero had said something to Trowa.  
Heero sighed. He should at least try calling Duo first- maybe he was only avoiding Allison.  
Three hours and five unanswered calls later, Heero had to concede that Duo was indeed avoiding him.  
He went by the Red Sox bar Duo frequented first, and then a handful of other bars he had been to with Duo and Trowa.  
Eventually, when all of the bartenders confirmed that Duo hadn't been in at all, Heero headed for Duo and Trowa's apartment.  
He had never been there without at least Duo or Trowa present as well, and he couldn't help but feel like an intruder.   
He put his briefcase down by the coffee table and noticed that the book Trowa had been reading was still there - he must have forgotten to take it with him to Miami. Heero could only imagine how frustrated Trowa was about that - he hated to start reading a new book while still working on another, but he hated even more not having something to read.  
Heero sat down on the couch and picked it up.   
Stardust.  
Outside it started to rain and Heero decided that, since he couldn’t do anything at this point except wait for Duo, he might as well read.

-o-  
Two hours later the door to the apartment opened and Duo walked in.   
He had been running, and while his black shorts were already skin tight, his t-shirt was also plastered to his skin from the rain and his own sweat. His hair was a mess, bangs soaked and pushed to the side and the long braid of hair down his back heavy and dark.  
His chest was heaving, his skin was pale, and his eyes were red rimmed.  
Heero set down the book and stood up, startling Duo.  
“Great,” Duo muttered. He tossed his key onto the kitchen counter and opened the fridge.  
Heero watched him pour a glass of water and gulp it down. He wondered just how long Duo had been running.  
“Great?” He echoed. He hadn’t missed the irritation in Duo’s voice.  
“You won’t use your key to come over when I want you here but you have no problem letting yourself in to ambush me when I don’t want you here.”  
Heero was shocked by how much Duo’s words and tone cut into him.   
He drew in a deep breath and reminded himself what Duo had faced today -and how Duo coped with things. He had been running - hell, he had been figuratively and literally trying to run away from this, as he tried to run from anything he couldn’t deal with, and of course he was pissed that Heero was here, not letting him run anymore.  
Of course, that didn’t change the fact that it hurt to hear Duo say that.  
“You said you wanted this to be more than sex,” Heero reminded him, trying to keep his voice level and his emotions out of this.   
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Yeah, maybe I did, but that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want -”  
“That you don’t want me here?” Heero finished for him. He couldn’t listen to Duo say it again. “Or that you don’t want to want me here?”  
Duo swallowed hard and looked away. He was still breathing heavily, and Heero knew it wasn’t because of his run.  
“How many miles did you run today?” Heero asked.  
“Not fucking enough,” Duo muttered and drank more water. “thirteen,” he added when Heero continued to look at him.  
Duo had run a fucking half-marathon to try to avoid thinking about what had happened to him. And judging by his face, it clearly hadn’t worked.  
“I would have run it with you.”  
Duo started to sneer, but he took in Heero’s expression, his sincerity and Heero hoped he saw just how much it killed Heero to see him like this.  
“I prefer to run alone,” Duo said, repeating his excuse the last time Heero had offered, but his voice sounded tired and lonely.  
“I won’t hold your hand while we run,” Heero said.  
Duo’s lips twitched slightly at the joke, but then he shook his head.  
“No. You and Trowa have your workout thing. I - I’m fine on my own.”  
“No, you aren’t.”  
Heero walked into the kitchen, stopping within arm’s reach of Duo, not wanting to crowd him but wanting to be close.  
Duo shook his head, and his eyes grew dark and wet as he struggled.  
“Don’t,” he begged Heero.  
“Duo -”  
“I can’t think about it. I can’t -”  
Heero closed the space between them and pulled Duo against him.  
Duo was stiff, his lean body all sharp angles and tense muscles.  
“Don’t run away from me,” Heero told him, whispering the words into Duo’s wet hair.   
Duo’s body melted into him, his arms wrapping around Heero’s waist in a tight embrace.  
“I’m so fucking pathetic,” Duo murmured, his voice raw.   
“No, you aren’t,” Heero assured him.  
Duo shook his head and his fingers dug into the material of Heero’s suit jacket.  
“I fucking froze. I saw him and I couldn’t - I couldn’t think. I just remembered everything - his hands, his mouth, his - fucking hell. I couldn’t do anything. It just like before. I’m so fucking powerless.”  
“No.” Heero pulled away enough to look into Duo’s eyes. “You won the case today. Zechs called - YSI wants to settle. They’re offering double what we thought they would if it came to a settlement.”  
Duo stared at him, uncomprehending.  
“Duo. You just gave each of these kids a future - you helped them. You were amazing today.”  
But Duo shook his head.  
“He was there, in my courtroom. He sat there in front of me and -”  
Heero finally started to understand why Duo had become a lawyer in the first place. Justice was blind - but it was still justice, and it had rules and a level playing field. It was supposed to be the place where Duo didn’t have to be scared, where he knew what he was doing and he could fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves - where he could try to save twelve year old boys from their nightmares.  
And today he had had to face his own nightmare in the one place that he felt safe and in control.  
“And you defeated him - Duo, you took him apart.”  
“He doesn’t regret it, ‘Ro. He’d do it again - he’s probably still doing it to -”  
“No,” Heero decided. “I’m going to stop him. I’m going to get his license revoked and I’m going to make sure he doesn’t touch anyone ever again.”  
Duo looked at him, blue eyes searching.  
“I -”  
“Please. Let me do this. You don’t need to face him again - not after today.”  
Duo’s lips twisted into a bitter smile.  
“I couldn’t do it anyway. I was so fucking close to breaking down and -”  
“But you didn’t,” Heero reminded him. “Duo - you’re the most incredible man I’ve ever met.”  
Duo gave a short, dark laugh.  
“Cut the bullshit, Heero, I’m not -”  
“Yes. you are.” Heero held Duo’s jaw, forcing him to maintain eye contact until Duo saw just how much he meant it.  
Duo’s eyes widened.  
“Heero,” his voice still slightly disbelieving.  
So Heero kissed him - putting all of his emotions, all of his desire and awe into it, worshipping Duo’s mouth with his own until Duo pulled him close and deepened the kiss.   
Heero backed him up against the counter, and lifted his soaked t-shirt, pulling off his body and breaking their kiss long enough to pull it free.  
He returned to Duo’s mouth hungrily, idly wondering if this was such a good idea considering how dehydrated Duo likely was after running for that long, but the electric press of Duo’s tongue against his own had him putting aside all rational thought.   
All that mattered was the feel of Duo’s skin, his wet, hot, firm body pressed against Heero’s and the need to show him just how amazing, how strong, how perfect he was.  
Heero ran his hands over Duo’s torso, keeping his touch firm but light, circling around Duo’s nipples before softly pinching them and Duo moaned into his mouth, his own hands going for Heero’s ass and squeezing in approval.  
Reluctant to leave Duo’s mouth, but wanting to taste more of him, Heero broke away from the kiss and started to lick and nip at Duo’s flesh, down his neck, across his chest, and laved at his nipples.  
Duo shuddered against him, hands trailing up Heero’s back and tangling in his hair.  
“That feels so good,” Duo moaned and then hissed when Heero bit down. “Oh God yes.”  
Heero kept his lips occupied teasing Duo’s right and left nipples while his hands worked to pull down Duo’s running shorts.  
Duo was already hard, a bead of precum on the tip that Heero smoothed back over the head, earning a shuddery gasp of pleasure from Duo.  
Heero kissed his way down Duo’s abdomen and then knelt down to lick his cock.  
“Mhmm - yes,” Duo sighed when Heero opened his mouth and slowly started to swallow his cock.  
He used one hand to pump the shaft while he held onto Duo’s right hip with his other, steadying both of them as he worked his mouth over Duo’s length, swirling his tongue around it as he sucked.  
It wasn’t long before he felt Duo’s hips shudder and he started to thrust into Heero’s mouth, always a sure sign he was close, and Heero held onto him tightly, wrapping both arms around him as Duo came with a relieved sigh.  
“Oh God - Heero I love you,” the last was said in a near whisper, so quiet Heero almost missed it.  
-o-


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Thirteen

“..of course. Duo and Trowa are both excellent lawyers.”  
“Indeed. It was so wonderful to see Duo on the cover of the New York Times twice - and did he tell you the New Yorker and the Atlantic interviewed him last week? It’s so wonderful he is being acknowledged.”  
“I seem to remember his partner, Heero Yuy, in those photographs as well.”  
“Yes. Truly a great partner for Duo. I -”  
The doorbell rang and Duo made absolutely no pretense about his desire to escape and answer the door. He practically threw the bowl of potatoes he had been peeling down and fled the kitchen where Catharine, Trowa’s sister, and Helen sat at the breakfast table and argued with each other.  
Trowa, of course, had been able to escape to their bedroom upstairs to take an urgent phone call. Duo didn’t begrudge him that - listening to these two women battle was hard enough on him, it made Trowa even more anxious than it did Duo.  
Of course, as he made his way to the door, he had to wonder - would this new addition to their Thanksgiving make things better or worse?  
He opened the door to find Heero on the other side, dressed in a navy sweater and khaki pants, wine bottle in hand, overnight bag at his feet and an unsure expression on his face.  
The acute relief Duo felt was immense and he pulled Heero to him, hugging him and kissing him.  
“Thank God you’re here,” he said as he pulled away quickly, mindful of the fact that Catharine and Helen were both nosey and could walk up to see this.  
Heero arched an eyebrow at his slightly desperate tone.  
“Sorry, it’s been a… rough morning.”  
“How is Trowa holding up?” Heero asked.  
Duo sighed and stepped aside so that Heero could enter the house.  
“You know him, burying everything down deep so he doesn’t have to deal with it.”  
Heero again arched an eyebrow, and Duo could feel his recrimination.  
After all, didn’t he do the same thing? Or at least try to? Heero just didn’t let him.  
Duo swallowed hard, remembering last week, perhaps one of the worst days of his life, and the way that Heero had been there for him, refusing to leave, refusing to let him ignore the pain and fear and then he had taken it away, had soothed him and worshipped him and Duo had confessed. He had told Heero he loved him.  
And Heero hadn’t said a word about it.  
Duo was trying not to make anything of that - of Heero’s silence. After all, maybe he simply hadn’t heard him. Maybe he assumed that since it was at that moment - during sex after such a miserable day - that Duo hadn’t really meant it.   
But each day that went by, as Heero continued to hold himself back, continued to turn down nights at their apartment and continued to have a pinched, troubled look on his face when he looked at Duo and Trowa, each passing day seemed proof to Duo that Heero did not return his feelings.  
But now, he reflected as he took Heero’s bag, was not the time to go down that dark hole. Heero obviously cared about Duo and Trowa - why else would he have put up with Duo that day or agreed to this weekend of hell?  
As if summoned by his thoughts, Helen walked into the living room and greeted Heero with a smile.  
“Oh Heero. It’s so good to see you again.”  
Heero inclined his head politely.  
“You’re looking well, Helen. I appreciate this invitation to join your family this weekend.”  
Helen beamed.  
“But of course! Why, you and Duo have been spending so much time together at work - doing such wonderful things together,” here she paused to look at Catharine triumphantly, who only rolled her eyes in response,” you’re nearly family already.”  
Duo had no idea what already could possibly mean. It wasn’t as if Heero could ever really be family. Not unless Duo planned on divorcing Trowa and -  
He sighed. This had to stop.  
Before he could say anything, however, Trowa came down the stairs. Duo watched him look at Heero, watched the way his face transformed from the carefully neutral expression he had worn since Helen arrived into a full fledged smile. It made Duo smile as well - seeing Trowa instantly that relaxed and open just because Heero had arrived. Apparently they both desperately needed him here.  
“Trowa,” Heero greeted him and Trowa actually hugged him, holding on tightly for a moment before letting go.  
“Heero. I’m glad you could make it. Have you met my sister yet? Catharine, this is Heero Yuy. Heero, my sister.”  
Heero and Catharine shook hands and Duo noticed that Catharine and Helen were both regarding Trowa with slightly raised eyebrows. Clearly neither woman had been expecting Trowa to hug the apparent rival for Duo.  
“It’s good to meet you,” Heero told Catharine.   
“And you as well,” she said, her eyes sparkling mischieviously. “My brother has told me so much about you.”  
Now it was Heero and Duo regarding Trowa with arched eyebrows. It made sense, Duo supposed - Trowa genuinely liked Heero as a friend as well as their clandestine lover - but he still found it interesting that Trowa had spoken to Catharine at length about him.   
Then again, Trowa was taciturn at the best of times - when Catharine said he had told her so much about Heero it really could just be to mention that he worked with them and he worked out with him. Could be, but Duo doubted it.  
He didn’t mind that Trowa talked to Catharine about Heero - hell, Duo now had a weekly beer with Vandy to talk about their complicated lives - but it made him uneasy. Duo knew that he was usually the one to dive in first, knew he rushed to the finish line and fell in love hard and fast and he had assumed that he was the only one already completely in love with Heero. But if Trowa had spoken to Catharine about him - and from that look in her eyes it was clearly more than two sentences - then Duo knew he had to feel just as deeply for Heero as he did.   
And they still didn’t have a clue about Heero’s feelings for them.  
“Anyway,” Duo spoke up, “let me show Heero to his room.”  
They had decided there was no way Heero could a room with Catharine or sleep on the couch in the living room, and since there was no plausible reason to put him in their bedroom, Trowa had purchased an air mattress and shoved the desk to one side of the room in their small office. It was cramped, but it at least a room.  
Heero smiled slightly as he took in the small space and set down his bag.  
“Reminds me of my dorm room in college,” he said.  
“Well, if you feel like channeling your college days of sneaking around for sex…” Duo muttered and waggled his eyebrows.  
Heero gave him a look.  
“I’m really not sure that’s the best plan,” he said, holding Duo’s eyes for a moment before his gaze drifted down to Duo’s lips. “Although I’m sure your mother would be over the moon if she walked in on me fucking you in the shower.”  
The thought of his mother catching them was in no way a turn on, but the low register of Heero’s voice, the way he said fucking, had Duo shivering and fighting off arousal.  
He stepped out of the room before he could do something unwise.  
“Come on. Can’t leave Trowa alone with them for too long.”  
Heero followed him back to the kitchen, where Trowa had taken over peeling the potatoes Duo had previously abandoned.  
“Wine?” He asked everyone, thinking that putting a dent in the six bottles of Malbec Trowa had purchased would likely help everyone feel more at ease.  
“Yes please,” Catharine said and everyone else nodded as well, Trowa a little vigorously.  
Duo ran his hand down Trowa’s back as he walked past, and Trowa leaned back into the touch slightly.  
As Duo poured glasses of wine he wondered if maybe they shouldn’t just plan to spend Thanksgiving in Paris too. He knew Helen liked getting to see him, but he really didn’t think he could put Trowa through this every year. They had always planned on having children, and Duo knew that that would likely finally force Helen to accept Trowa as a permanent part of Duo’s life. But now, with Heero, that wasn’t going to happen.  
Duo sighed. At least if the three of them went to Paris they didn’t have to hide their relationship. It wouldn’t be the same thing as a family Thanksgiving, teaching kids how to mash potatoes or watch them fall asleep after the large meal, curled up between Trowa and Duo on the couch.   
“Does your family not celebrate Thanksgiving?” Catharine asked Heero, pulling Duo out of his thoughts.  
He passed around the wine and then leaned on the counter beside where Trowa worked.  
“They do,” Heero said, his face tense and his voice slightly bitter.   
“Oh. I hadn’t realized we were keeping you from -” Helen started to say.  
Heero shook his head and interrupted her.  
“You aren’t keeping me from them,” he assured her. He drew in a breath and forced himself to relax. “I was grateful for the invitation.”  
Trowa had finished peeling the potatoes and Duo took over for him, adding seasoning, butter and milk before mashing them.  
“Oh - are we that close to eating?” Catharine asked. She sniffed the air. “It smells amazing, I just hadn’t realized we were so close.”  
“Still about half an hour,” Duo told her. “I’ll cover these and put them in the oven with the turkey and then get to work on the green beans. And then it will be ready.”  
“Oh. We should probably set the table then,” Catharine looked at her brother. “Give me a hand?”  
“Mom, can you find some music to play for us?” Duo asked Helen.   
Which left him in the kitchen alone with Heero.  
“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I didn’t - I didn’t even ask about your family.”  
He felt like an idiot, but he had assumed Heero would say something to him if he had his own family tradition.  
“It’s fine. I wouldn’t be there if I wasn’t here,” Heero said, some of the edge back in his voice.  
Duo swallowed hard. He was acutely aware of the fact that Heero was still the only person he had confided in, yet Heero still hadn’t explained his teenaged suicide attempt - and now there was clearly some issue with his family as well.   
Duo felt shallow and self-centered. Hadn’t he been the one to make that big speech about this needing to be more than sex?  
“Do you -”  
“No,” Heero interrupted him before he could get very far with the question.  
Heero sighed.  
“I don’t talk about it. It’s not - it’s not something that can ever be remedied. What can I do to help?”  
Duo put him to work trimming the green beans.  
“I, ah, probably should have warned you.”  
Heero looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.  
“Cathy and Tro had this weird family tradition of watching Star Wars after we eat.”  
“Which films?”  
“All of them.”  
Heero winced.  
“Even -”  
“Yeah. Even those. I know. It’s fucking weird and it’s bad taste but… when they were kids they used to watch the original trilogy with their parents and after the new ones came out they started watching those too because their Dad always wished they had made more films but he was dead by the time those pieces of garbage came out and…”  
“Do they watch them in order by release date or chronological?”  
“Release date, thank God. So you can always just fall asleep by the time they get to Attack of the Clones.”  
“Does your mother watch them?”  
Duo chuckled.  
“Actually she does - well she watches the first one and then usually goes off to read on the beach if the weather is nice during the second one. We watch Return of the Jedi during dinner, and like I said… pretend to fall asleep by the time we get around to the prequels.”  
Heero nodded.  
“That sounds like a safe plan.”  
“Trust me. It’s the only plan. They’ve seen these things so many times they have the dialogue memorized. And while Trowa makes a much better Anakin than crybaby ever did, it’s just weird when he and Cathy start doing whole scenes together.”  
Heero smirked slightly.  
“I don’t know. I might have to stay up to see that just once.”  
“Suit yourself.”  
Duo smirked back at him and nudged his shoulder. Heero nudged him back.  
“Thanks for coming.”  
“Thanks for inviting me.”

-o-  
Lunch was surprisingly anti-climactic. The conversation was neutral, especially with Helen there, and Duo and Catherine did most of the talking while Helen kept herself to just a few snide remarks and Heero and Trowa remained silent and mostly just complimented the food.  
Duo felt guilty when, after lunch, he and Trowa took their normal positions together on the couch while Helen and Catharine sat in the armchairs but then Trowa moved over, closer to Duo, and Heero sat down on the couch with them. The couch wasn’t that large, and, as they had learned from previous experience, the only way all three of them fit on it was if one of them sat partially on someone else.  
So Duo gamely shifted so that his legs were open, one against the back of the couch, and Trowa settled back against him while Heero sat beside him, close enough that Duo could discretely wedge his foot under Heero’s ass.  
They settled back to watch A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back and Duo found himself falling asleep a few times. Heero, however, seemed to be just as much of a nerd as Trowa and Catharine and stayed awake the entire time, contributing to their side conversations as they questioned the characters motives and the social values of the Star Wars galaxy.  
It wasn’t until they finished Empire and Duo started to reheat the leftovers from lunch that things took a turn for the worse. Catharine started it, accidentally Duo was sure, when she asked Trowa about their adoption plans.  
“The last I heard you were on the waiting list? But that was a few months ago. Have you heard anything since?”  
Trowa exchanged a look with Duo.  
“We did,” he eventually answered his sister. “But we’ve decided to wait. We still aren’t sure if -”  
“You mean you still aren’t sure,” Helen interrupted him. This had been one of her biggest issues with Trowa from the start.  
Trowa had never said he didn’t want children, but he had never expressed much enthusiasm for it. Duo knew he wasn’t against it, or he wouldn’t have pushed for it so hard all of these years with him, but Helen seemed to think Trowa wanted nothing to do with children.  
“No,” Trowa responded. “We discussed it together and we both decided that now is not the right time.”  
It was almost the truth. They really hadn’t had much discussion outside of the time when Duo freaked out over the realization that having Heero in their lives meant there was absolutely no chance they would ever be approved for adoption. They had spoken about it once, a few weeks ago, when another agency they had approached months ago had called them back. Duo had been more rational at the time, more committed to having Heero with them, and they had decided that changing their plans in life to accommodate Heero was, in the end, what they wanted. But it wasn’t as if Trowa could come out and say that - so he had agreed to tell the lie if it came up with their families. Duo still wasn’t sure he could have done it without feeling miserable - he actually felt miserable just hearing Trowa say it.   
He wanted a family, had always wanted to be a father, but he loved Heero. And it was clear Trowa did as well. However much he wanted children, they needed Heero more.  
“Really?” Helen pressed. “And when would be the right time?”  
“Mother -”  
“Duo. Darling, let Trowa speak.”  
Catharine looked just as miserable as Duo felt.  
Heero, standing to the side and almost outside of the room, had a neutral expression on his face and his arms crossed over his chest.  
Trowa held Helen’s gaze for a long, tense moment.   
“When Duo and I want to change our plans, we will. And I’m sure that Duo will let you know, but our decisions aren’t open for negotiation.” His voice was that icy tone he rarely used, had only ever used three times in fights with Duo.  
Helen opened her mouth, clearly spoiling for a fight, and Duo jumped in before this got any worse.  
“Heero, you said you needed to look at some paperwork? Did you want to use Tro’s computer to do that before we have dinner?”  
It was a pathetic excuse, painfully obvious, but it was all Duo could think to do.  
“Yes,” Heero said. “Thank you - I’d forgotten about that.”  
Now was not the time for jokes, but all the same Heero’s sarcasm caught Duo off-guard and he had to fight off a laugh.  
Catharine’s lips twitched in amusement but Helen looked angry.  
Trowa and Heero made their escape upstairs, leaving Duo alone with his mother and Catharine.  
“Duo, darling, I simply - “  
“Mom, Trowa and I are completely on the same page with this. With everything.”  
Fifteen minutes later, Heero and Trowa came back downstairs, Trowa’s clearer expression the only evidence that they had not been looking at files on his computer - then again, maybe they had. Maybe fifteen minutes of looking at porn had helped relax Trowa, but Duo doubted it.   
He sent Heero a grateful look, who shrugged minimally in response.  
Dinner was quiet and tense and Duo was grateful for Return of the Jedi playing, saving him from trying to make awkward conversation and allowing everyone to focus on something other than the argument that had just occurred.  
As Duo was clearing the table and preparing to wash dishes, Helen stopped him.  
“Darling, let me handle that. Why don’t you show Heero the beach? Relax a little.”  
Duo was stunned speechless. Was she seriously going to -  
“Actually,” Heero spoke up. “I’m sure Duo and Trowa would appreciate some time together. Why don’t we handle the dishes while you two go for a walk and relax?”  
Helen had a sour look on her face.  
“You should join them,” she suggested.  
Catharine rolled her eyes.  
“No,” Heero said, “I’d like to help clean up. Duo and Trowa have put in a lot of effort for us.”  
“Sure. Ah, thanks.”  
Duo caught Heero’s arm as he walked into the kitchen.  
“You can come with us,” he assured him in a low voice.  
Heero shook his head.  
“No. You and Trowa need the time. You should talk to him.”  
“About my mother and -”  
“No. About what happened to you.”  
Duo sighed in exasperation.  
“‘Ro, this is really not the right time. Especially after -”  
“Duo, you’re never going to think it’s the right time. He needs to know and you need to tell him. He knows something happened. He asked me about it.”  
Duo opened his mouth to argue, but Catharine walked by them and gave him a look.  
Duo sighed, released Heero, and joined Trowa by the front door.  
“Right. Well… don’t burn the house down while we’re gone,” Duo said and avoided looking at Heero again.

-o-  
Trowa was quiet, which wasn’t exactly abnormal, but the tense set of his shoulders and the frown line between his brows were clear indications of just how frustrated he really was.  
Duo had never enjoyed holding hands, but he laced their fingers together, squeezing slightly before keeping their hands together in a loose grip.  
“I was thinking… maybe next year we should do Thanksgiving in Paris, too,” Duo said. “And by Thanksgiving, I mean you, Heero and I can just spend four times screwing our brains out and drinking champagne.”  
Trowa laughed.  
“That sounds like a good plan.”  
“I’m sorry, Tro. I -”  
“It’s not your fault, Duo,” Trowa sighed. “I shouldn’t have let her get to me. I just -”  
“You just get tired of fighting the same damn fight with her every time. I know. I know and I wish I could say something to her to make her understand that you’re not going anywhere. That you’re what I want and this is what I want.”  
“It is, isn’t it?” There was a note of hesitation in Trowa’s voice and Duo quickly stamped down on the anger that aroused in him.  
“Yes,” he assured Trowa.  
“I’ve noticed… you’ve been distant lately. Not like before, but something is clearly bothering you.”  
Duo mentally cursed. Heero was right - as usual, as always it seemed like.  
“It’s not - it’s nothing to do with us.”  
“With Heero?”  
“No. Not him either. Well, he -” Duo caught himself too late and sighed at Trowa’s arched eyebrow.  
“Last week, in court -”  
“The YSI trial?”  
Duo nodded and stopped walking. He sat down on the sand and waited for Trowa to sit down beside him. They huddled close for warmth and Duo couldn’t help but think this would be the last time things would be like this - the last time Trowa touched Duo without knowing. He sighed.  
“Zechs called Dr. Giovani as a witness. He’s a psychologist, works for the state of New York and deals with juvenile delinquents. He, well, after I was caught shoplifting I was sent to see a psychologist.”  
“Dr. Po?”  
“No. She was the school guidance counselor. I had to see her too, thank fucking God. But Giovani - I saw him twice a week for two years.”  
Duo swallowed hard. This was so damn difficult to admit. His throat was constricted with anxiety and remembered fear and pain.  
“You know I’m shit at talking about things. It took a few months for me to start trusting him, to start really talking to him. And then he…” Jesus. What did he say? What could possibly describe just how much Giovani violated Duo? “He raped me,” Duo began and he felt Trowa’s body go still against him. “He raped me and he told me no one would ever believe me or trust me or even want me because I was such a stupid, pathetic kid. He used to make me undress him. I’d come in, I’d lock the door, and he’d sit there in his chair and make me take off his clothes.” He hadn’t told Heero about that, hadn’t wanted to remember that much, but now that he was talking about it - it felt like a fucking flood gate had opened. All of the memories crashing down and drowning him. “I always had to clean him off afterwards, too. He had these sanitary wipes that smelled like lavender and -”  
“You hate lavender,” Trowa murmured, realizing why.  
Duo drew in a shuddery breath.   
“I hate lemon scented shit too. He had a lotion, some kind of lemon hand cream, that he used as lubricant - it fucking hurt every time. The alcohol in it or the fragrance or something but if burned and I could smell it on his fingers when he touched me.”  
“Heero said YSI offered to settle.”  
“Zechs called him as a witness - he knew about me somehow and I froze. I don’t think I’ve ever been that scared in my entire life which is so fucking pathetic because I’m twenty-nine but seeing him on that witness stand… I barely managed to cross examine him.”  
“But you did.”  
“I did. I crushed the case.”  
“You said Heero had something to do with this.”  
Duo sighed.  
“No, he just knows about it. I told him, when you were in Miami a few months ago - the same damn day you almost fucked him in the locker room.”  
Trowa was quiet for several minutes and Duo tried to keep his mind blank, tried not to assume what Trowa’s reaction was going to be.  
“I don’t want you to need me,” Trowa said at last, his voice low and hard to discern from the rumble of the ocean waves. “But I’m here, when you do need me. I’m your partner, Duo. I love you. I go to bed thinking about you and I wake up thinking about you. I don’t want you to - I wish to God that had never happened to you, and I wish I had been with you in court to face him, because the things that hurt you - the pain you feel - those are the burdens I want to share with you.”  
Trowa turned Duo to face him. There was almost no light out tonight, the overcast sky blocking out most of the moonlight, but the faint illumination of lights from the house cast a soft glow on Trowa’s face, on the shimmer of tears in his eyes. Duo swallowed hard.  
“I love you,” Trowa repeated.   
“Tro -”  
“This doesn’t change anything. Except,” Trowa ran his thumb over Duo’s cheek, “except it makes it even more obvious how amazingly strong you are. How lucky I am to have you in my life, by my side.”  
“I’m the lucky one,” Duo insisted, humiliated by the raw quality of his voice.  
Trowa kissed him, a gentle press of his lips that was all about comfort and trust.  
“We’re both lucky,” Trowa compromised and Duo nodded in agreement.  
He rested his forehead against Trowa’s for a moment, enjoying the stillness of the night, the steady warmth of Trowa’s body, the knowledge that Trowa didn’t think him horribly pathetic and weak.

-o-  
The next morning Duo decided to take Heero up on his offer to run with him. He left Trowa asleep in bed, pressing a quick kiss to his mouth as he left the room, and then heading downstairs to the office.  
Heero was also still asleep, curled on his side clutching a pillow and the sheets and blankets tangled in his legs.  
Duo had to grin at that. Heero was usually the first one awake - out of all of them he was the closest to a morning person and rarely had to rely on an alarm clock to wake up.  
Duo knelt down by the edge of the air mattress and ran his fingers over Heero’s spine, pushing his t-shirt up as he went, and Heero shivered at the sensation before rolling over and opening his eyes.  
He regarded Duo with a sleepy smile.  
“Morning,” Duo greeted him.  
“Morning.”  
Heero stretched, his morning erection bobbing under the sheets, but Duo only spared it a passing glance.  
“Thought you might want to go for a run with me?”  
“Really?”  
Duo shrugged.  
“You don’t have to. It’s Thanksgiving so you might want to sleep in and -”  
“No,” Heero assured him, already getting off of the mattress. “I’d love to.”  
During their run, Duo focused on trying to keep a steady pace with Heero. It was new for him, he had always been a terrible running partner, as Trowa had learned early on, but, he found, it was worth the effort.   
Heero didn’t try to hold a conversation, which Duo appreciated. Instead, they ran five miles in companionable silence and when they returned to the house they walked down to the beach, cooling down from the run and enjoying the rare, sunny morning this late in the year.  
“Did you stay up and watch the prequels with them last night?” Duo asked Heero as they toed off their sneakers and approached the edge of the water. It was bitingly cold, but Duo didn’t mind and Heero didn’t seem to either.  
“Yeah. You were right - they started quoting dialogue at each other. It was funny - and you were right, Trowa is a much better Anakin.”  
Duo chuckled. He had only stayed up until Helen went to bed - he wasn’t about to risk something else happening with her and Trowa. When Trowa did finally come to bed he had kissed Duo awake and then held him, spooning against him like they used to do when they still lived at opposite sides of the country and didn’t want to waste a single moment not touching each other.  
“I’m glad they still do it - still have that family tradition.”  
“Do you and Helen have any traditions?”  
Duo snorted.  
“Drinking wine.” Duo shrugged. “My Dad was the cook in the family. After he and my brother died… we used to get Chinese takeout for Thanksgiving for years, until I finally started to cook some. What about your family?”  
As Duo had anticipated, Heero tensed at the question.  
“Not really,” Heero admitted. “Not since - not for a long time.”  
“Do they cook a big dinner?” Duo pressed, knowing Heero would rather he leave it alone.  
Heero shook his head.  
“No.”  
“Do they go out? Have extended family they visit or -”  
“Nothing. They don’t do anything for Thanksgiving.”  
Heero started back towards the house and Duo swore.  
“I’m sorry,” he said when he caught up to Heero. “I’ll drop it. I just -”  
“It’s nothing you can fix, Duo,” Heero said, his voice bitter and his face drawn. “I know you want to. But you can’t. Just leave it alone.”  
Their walk back up to the house was quiet and as soon as they entered the house, Heero made a beeline for the office, firmly closing the door behind himself.  
Duo sighed in frustration.  
Way to go, Maxwell.  
Catharine was in the kitchen, and she arched an eyebrow at him but said nothing.  
Duo gratefully accepted the glass of water she handed him.  
“You know,” she started to say, and Duo had a very bad feeling about this.  
Over the years Catharine had cornered him a handful of times. She liked him, certainly more than Helen liked Trowa, and she even thought Duo was good for Trowa, but she still liked to make sure her brother was being treated the way she knew he deserved.  
“You know, Heero seems like a great guy.”  
Duo blinked in surprise. He had expected her to bring up his mother’s awful behavior.  
“He is,” Duo agreed in relief.  
“And really, really cute.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Cathy, you’re very attractive, and any guy would be lucky to date you, but Heero is gay.”  
She glared at him.  
“I noticed. It was kind of obvious from the way he stares at my brother’s ass and your crotch all the time.”  
“Oh.”  
Duo tried to think of what he could possibly say.  
“Well, we are damn attractive guys…” he trailed off when her glare intensified.  
“I don’t know what the hell is going on,” Catharine said. “But when you married my brother you told me that you wanted to spend the rest of your life making him happy, that the thing you wanted more than anything else was to make him smile every day.”  
“I meant it - I still do,” Duo assured her.  
Catharine held his gaze for a long moment.  
“I like Heero,” she said at last. “He joined in our Star Wars quotes last night.”  
That was news to Duo - he hadn’t expected Heero to do that, and Heero definitely hadn’t admitted to it earlier.  
“I didn’t realize he was as tragically geeky as the two of you,” Duo murmured, earning an eye roll from Catharine.  
“Trowa likes him a lot,” she continued.  
Duo nodded in agreement. He wasn’t entirely sure where this was going or how much Catharine had guessed or assumed - but she clearly knew something was going on and didn’t seem to be outright against it.  
“They really get each other,” Duo said cautiously and Catharine nodded.  
“I noticed that. And you?”  
“Huh?”  
“You and Heero - does he really get you too?”  
“Um, I -”  
“Good morning,” Helen walked into the kitchen and Duo snapped his mouth closed.   
“Morning Mom,” he greeted her.  
“Morning,” Catharine’s own greeting was just barely polite. “I made coffee.” She waved at the pot but made no offer to pour any for Helen.  
It was another hour before Heero joined them, and an hour after that before Trowa finally came downstairs.  
“So lazy,” Duo chided him. Trowa rarely got to sleep in, but when he did he seemed to take it as a personal challenge to sleep as late as possible.  
Trowa accepted coffee from Catharine and joined Heero at the breakfast table.  
“I was up late,” he offered in defense.  
“So were we,” Catharine gestured to herself and Heero. “And Heero got up to go running with Duo at the crack of dawn today.”  
Trowa looked up at that, glancing between the two men, a question on his face.  
Duo shrugged. He hadn’t mentioned it to Trowa, and he suddenly felt a little guilty, as though he had stolen time away from him.  
“I went back to sleep afterwards,” Heero assured Trowa. “For an hour.”  
Trowa rolled his eyes.  
“Fine. I like to sleep. Sue me.”  
“Dangerous threat with two lawyers in the house,” Duo murmured and he and Heero shared grins.  
“Heero, do you know how to play bridge?” Helen asked.  
Heero frowned slightly.  
“I used to,” he allowed. “I haven’t played it since I was fifteen or so.”  
“Ah, well, I’m sure you’ll remember the rules easily enough. Catharine refuses to learn and it’s so rare we have four for a game.”  
Duo shot Heero an apologetic look.  
Catharine patted Heero on the shoulder sympathetically.  
“You can partner Duo,” Helen said. “Since the two of you work so well together already.”  
Duo clenched his teeth against the immediate rebuke that sprang to his lips.  
It wasn’t even noon yet.  
After an hour of cards, things had only gotten worse.  
Helen chided Trowa on the way he bid his hand constantly, while complimenting Heero and Duo when they won. She used the word partner more times than Duo thought possible and then he finally snapped when suggested that Duo and Heero were a perfect fit for each other.  
“Mom, can I have a word with you? While Trowa deals the next hand?”  
Duo guided his mother into the kitchen.  
“What are you doing?” He hissed at her.  
Helen frowned.  
“What do you mean?”  
“I mean what are you doing? Why are you antagonizing Trowa like this? Why are you throwing Heero at me like I’m - like I’m not married and not completely in love with my husband,” and with Heero, he silently added.  
“Darling, I’m simply trying to show you that you have options. Heero is clearly attracted to you and -”  
“I’m married to Trowa. I chose him. I want to spend the rest of my life with him.” And Heero. “Trowa is my partner - I already, at this moment, have everything I want. I have the partner,” partners, he silently amended, “that I want and need. I don’t need you constantly antagonizing Trowa.”  
“Darling, I simply want what’s best for you. I want you to have someone who knows just how remarkable you are and treats you the way you deserve.”  
“I already have that,” he assured her through clenched teeth. “Everything that you want for me - I have. Trowa loves me. He thinks I’m incredible and it’s beyond imagining why he loves me as much as he does, but he does. I understand that you don’t care for him as much as I do. I understand that you want the best for me. But you have to trust that I have found that. In Trowa.” And Heero. “Please. Love him for my sake. Please.”  
Helen held his gaze for a long moment and then sighed.  
“I don’t know if I can love him, but I suppose I can do a better job of tolerating him.”  
It wasn’t nearly enough, in Duo’s mind, and Helen saw the mutinous look on his face.  
“I can even be nice to him,” she added and then hugged him. “I’m sorry. I simply love you and you are all that I have left in this world. Does it make me so terrible to look out for you?”  
“No,” Duo sighed and hugged her back. “But you have to trust my choices and you have to support me - and that means supporting Trowa too.”  
Helen kissed his cheek.  
“Very well.”  
She wiped tears from the corners of her eyes.  
“If he really makes you happy.”  
“He does.” It felt ridiculous to be having this conversation after two and a half years of marriage - after five and a half years of being together.  
Helen smoothed his sweater and stepped back.  
“Well, we shouldn’t keep your guests waiting.”  
Duo followed her back into the living room, where it was very obvious everyone had overheard them.  
Catharine, sitting on the couch with a book in her lap, smirked at him.  
Trowa had a faint smile tugging at the corners of his mouth and his posture was more relaxed than it had been in days.  
Heero - Heero made an excuse about checking his emails and returning phone calls from work and left the card table.

-o-  
That chapter was SUCH a beast!!!!  
Next up, all of you who have been dying to know why Heero attempted suicide as a teenager… your wait is over!


	14. Chapter Fourteen

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Thank you, so very, very much to everyone who takes the time to leave a review. I really appreciate it and it makes it so much fun to share this story.  
A/N #3: Take notice of the change on the pairings list - or don’t. Consider yourself warned.  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Fourteen

Most people had lists of days to celebrate- holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. Days they could look forward to.  
As with most things in life, Heero did things differently. He had days to dread- holidays, birthdays, anniversaries.  
In some ways he was grateful to have spent Thanksgiving as a guest, an awkward fifth wheel with Duo and Trowa and their family. In other ways it simply emphasized just how alone, how desperately alone, he really was.  
Listening to Duo give his mother a piece of his mind over her treatment of Trowa had, on one level, been gratifying. Just as it had been gratifying to see the way Trowa looked at Duo after they came back from their walk on the beach and Duo’s assumed confession. Trowa had the look of someone in love for the first time that awed expression of wonder and attraction that you really only saw in romantic films. Heero was happy for them, he really was. But that didn’t change the ache in his heart when he looked at them, when he heard the iron in Duo’s voice when he told his mother to love Trowa for his sake, when he told his mother that he already had what he wanted and needed in Trowa, his partner.  
Still, the pain of knowing that he really was just an accessory to their relationship paled in comparison to the pain he would have felt had he risked going home for Thanksgiving. The holiday meant too much to his family, and it was a day too close to the anniversary that had broken their family.  
He hadn’t been home for Thanksgiving since high school, and even for the three years before that there had been no celebration, no gathering of the family.  
With Christmas coming up, Heero knew it was that time of year when he was most miserable, when all of his memories came back to haunt him. He had spent too many holidays alone to have much hope - and he didn’t know if he could handle spending Christmas with Duo and Trowa after Thanksgiving.   
Still, there were hard days to get through between now and then - days that the his pain and isolation in that relationship could not distract him from.  
Days like today.  
He had skipped his usual workout with Trowa this morning. Trowa had clearly picked up on his sense of desolation - so had Duo, but Duo was easier to avoid now that the YSI case had been settled. He didn’t think he could deal with Trowa dropping hints about coming over, about talking and spending time together.   
Heero supposed he should try to enjoy it while it lasted - before Duo and Trowa decided that now was the time to start a family and their time with Heero came to an end. They had needed him, and he didn’t doubt that Duo really did love him, but their relationship had been mended, their lives back on track, and soon enough Heero would no longer be welcome in their home or their lives.  
In the week since Thanksgiving he had only been over to their apartment twice, and both times had been bittersweet. When they were together it felt amazing, as if Heero belonged with them and nowhere else in the world, as if they truly wanted and needed him. But for all those hours in the day when Duo and Trowa had each other and Heero had no one, it felt as if he truly did not belong anywhere.  
Gina walked into his office and sighed.  
“Did you not like the salad?”  
He frowned guiltily and glanced at the wilted greens that had been sitting on his desk for over an hour.  
“No,” he assured her, because she had picked the salad he always ate, “it was good.”  
She arched an eyebrow but didn’t comment further.   
“You have a call on line two,” she informed him.  
“Who?”   
“Not a client. That friend of yours, Wufei Chang.”  
“Oh.”  
Heero stared at the phone but made no move to pick up the receiver.  
“Shall I take a message?”  
“No,” Heero decided. Wufei would have only called today for one reason. “I’ll answer it.”  
He waited for Gina to leave before doing so.  
“Wufei.”  
“Have you been to see her yet?”  
No greeting, no semblance of small talk. Wufei knew him well.  
“No.” Heero had to clear his throat. “Not yet. I… I didn’t want to run into them again.”  
“When did that happen?”  
“Last year. It was...not pleasant.”  
Wufei sighed.  
“I imagine not. I just finished my final class for the day. Get your things together and let’s go.”  
“Wufei, you don’t have to -”  
“I know I don’t have to, Heero. But I’m going to go with you anyway so don’t bother arguing with me.”  
Heero swallowed hard. He didn’t deserve Wufei’s friendship. Especially not on a day like today.  
“Heero. Stop it.” Wufei’s voice was sharp.  
Heero sighed.  
“Let me finish up a few things. I should be ready to go in -”  
“You have thirty minutes. I’ll be at your office by then.”  
Heero nodded, then realized Wufei couldn’t see him.  
“Thank you,” he said.  
“See you soon,” Wufei said and hung up.  
Heero worked to finish up the cases he had been half-heartedly working on. He hated how distracted and inefficient he had been all day, but for the life of him he hadn’t been able to make himself focus.  
“I’ll be leaving for the day soon,” he informed Gina as he threw out his uneaten salad.  
“Would you like your calls forwarded?”  
Heero shook his head.  
“Just take messages. I’ll get to everything first thing in the morning.”  
She nodded and then seemed to hesitate.  
“Is there… anything I can do? To help you?”  
“I didn’t realize I was being that obvious,” he muttered, humiliated that his secretary was trying to comfort him.  
“You aren’t,” she assured him. “But I’ve had a few months to get to know your body language. I haven’t seen you look this miserable in months. Not since…” she trailed off. “Is Relena coming back?”  
Her tone startled a laugh out of him.  
“No,” he said and then paused. “Not that I know of. This is… a personal matter.”  
Gina nodded knowingly.  
Wufei arrived promptly half an hour after the end of the phone call, saving Heero from a more in depth heart to heart conversation with Gina.  
“Ready?” Wufei asked.   
In his sweater and gray wool overcoat he looked solid and warm and Heero fought off his urge to hug him. He wasn’t twelve. He wasn’t weak - and he didn’t even have the right to want that kind of comfort from Wufei anymore.  
Heero nodded and together they walked down the hall towards the elevator.  
They passed Duo and Trowa’s offices on the way. Both men were in Trowa’s office, Duo leaning against the door frame while talking to Trowa inside.  
Duo looked over his shoulder as Heero passed and he smiled.  
“Hey! We were just talking about you and -” he stopped himself when he saw Wufei. “Hi.”  
“Duo, this is Wufei Chang, Wufei, this is Duo Maxwell. And his husband, Trowa Barton.”  
Wufei shook hands with Duo and then with Trowa, who rose from his desk to stand in the door beside Duo.  
“Ah, the mysterious friend,” Duo said and smirked at Wufei. “We should all grab dinner sometime - I’m sure you’ve got stories about Heero’s wild law school days we can use as ammunition against him in the future.”  
Wufei arched an eyebrow, clearly underwhelmed by Duo’s charm.  
“I’m sure if Heero had any exploits he wanted to share then he would,” Wufei said.  
Heero felt his lips twitch at Wufei’s typically dry response.  
“Right…” Duo said. He arched an eyebrow at Heero.  
“We’re on our way out,” Heero explained to him.  
“Ah.” Duo nodded and looked back at Trowa, who was glaring at Wufei.  
Heero frowned and then noticed that Wufei was returning the glare with equal force.  
“We won’t keep you,” Duo said. “If you want to grab dinner or… anything later just let us know.”  
Heero nodded.  
“Have a good night,” he told them.  
“Nice meeting you!” Duo said as Heero and Wufei started to walk away.  
Wufei refrained from making snide comments about Duo or Trowa as they rode the elevator down, which Heero would have found incredibly odd if it was any day other than today. He imagined that Wufei was restraining himself in light of Heero’s current misery. No doubt he would get an earful later about his colleagues, since that was all Wufei knew them to be.  
“Cab or train?” Wufei asked him when they stepped out on the street.  
A cab would be quicker, but it would also be quiet and private. Too easy to talk about the past.  
“The train,” Heero decided.  
They walked in silence to the nearest subway terminal, sat down together in silence on the train, and remained silent for the entire ride.  
They got off the train and walked in silence to their destination. The sun was just beginning to set, orange and red washing the sky behind the trees of the Evergreens Cemetery.   
Wufei trailed behind him, letting him approach the grave on his own.  
Hana Yuy. Beloved Daughter.  
He should have brought flowers, but he never did.   
The gravestone was already lavishly decorated with pink roses, her favorite.  
Heero knew his mother had left them, had no doubt carefully arranged them to frame the words on the stone.  
Leaves had been cleared around the marker, no doubt by Heero’s father, who was meticulous about such things.   
He knew some people spoke to the dead. A therapist had once told him it might help, if he shared his feelings and thoughts with his dead sister.  
Heero had called the therapist a moron, even at the age of sixteen he had known that nothing would ever help. Not with this pain.  
So he stared at the marker, at the simple granite and the plain, solid lettering, and he tried to remember her smile, her childish giggle when he tickled her. He tried to remember, but he couldn’t. All he could remember was the way she had screamed.  
He wasn’t sure how long he had been standing there before Wufei stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder.  
The sun had fallen completely, and only the dim light of distant streetlights illuminated the graveyard.  
“The grounds closed about two hours ago,” Wufei told him. “We should probably go before we get arrested.”  
Heero nodded.  
Wufei’s hand fell from his shoulder to grip his left hand tightly.  
They walked back, hands together, in silence.  
“My place or yours?” Wufei asked him once they had safely made it out of the cemetery.  
Heero frowned in confusion.  
“What?”  
Wufei sighed.  
“Do you want to go to my place or yours?”  
Heero shook his head.  
“You don’t -”  
“Stop saying I don’t have to. I know I don’t have to. Where do you want to go?”  
“My place,” Heero decided.   
They were silent on the walk to the subway terminal, silent as they sat together on train, and silent when they got off the train and walked the two blocks to Heero’s apartment.  
As he opened the door Heero realized he hadn’t had anyone over for almost a year. He always went to Duo and Trowa’s apartment, and before them he had had his antagonist relationship with Zechs, who had never been over.   
Neither had Wufei, he thought, watching the other man survey the minimally furnished one bedroom apartment.  
“Nice view,” Wufei decided, standing by the doors leading to the balcony that overlooked the Hudson river.  
“That’s why I got it,” Heero admitted.  
Wufei nodded and then removed his jacket.  
Heero took it from him and hung it up by the front door with his own.  
“I don’t really have any food -”  
“Are you hungry?” Wufei interrupted.  
Heero shook his head in the negative.  
“Neither am I.”  
They stared at each other for a moment and then Wufei pulled Heero against him.  
“I’m sorry,” he said, his normally harsh voice amazingly soft. “I’m sorry,” he said again and the words made Heero shudder.  
He clung to Wufei tightly. He didn’t deserve the comfort, but he was too weak to refuse it.  
Eventually, Wufei steered them towards the bedroom and they lay down together, limbs tangled and Heero’s head resting on Wufei’s chest while the other man ran his fingers over Heero’s spine in a soothing motion.  
“Eventually, you need to forgive yourself,” Wufei murmured, his lips pressed against Heero’s forehead.  
“I can’t,” Heero was startled by the rawness of his own voice.  
“Heero, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Wufei said. They had gone through this before. Several times.  
“It’s my fault she died,” Heero bit out. He knew Wufei understood, but he always argued with him. Heero supposed it was the only thing Wufei could think to do. They argued about everything else after all.  
“No, it -”  
“I let her go,” Heero reminded him. “I let her go and she fell and -”  
And a bus ran her over, she screamed and she was crushed and her body barely had any life in it but she was rushed to the hospital and after hours of waiting, hours of surgery attempting to knit her frail little body back together, a doctor told Heero, his mother and his father that Hana had died. Heero still remembered the smell of the hospital, the way the flimsy chair in the waiting room creaked when his father hit him, the taste of blood in his mouth and the ringing in his ears as his father hit him again and again, calling him useless, a murderer.  
“You didn’t push her,” Wufei pointed out. He sighed and pulled Heero against him tightly. “You didn’t push her.”  
Her hand had been so small, and their gloves had been slick with melted snow. When she had dropped her bag she had tugged on his hand, trying to reach back for it, and she had slipped free.   
Heero’s parents had never forgiven him, and he had never forgiven himself. Every year he wondered if it would be easier - if the pain and the memories would be less - but every year it was just as fresh, just as deep.  
Heero swallowed hard.  
“You should go,” he said eventually. Wufei had a life, he had a future and he did not need to spend his time here with Heero, drowning in guilt and self-recrimination.  
“I’m staying right here,” Wufei told him and kissed his forehead before nudging Heero’s chin up so they were looking at each other. “I told you I would be here for you.” Wufei sighed. “I wasn’t, while I was in Germany. I… I thought about calling you, but I was too much of a coward.”  
Heero frowned at that.  
“I didn’t think I could hear your voice and not get on a plane and rush to you,” Wufei confessed and offered Heero a sad smile. “I hoped that maybe… maybe you had forgotten how much it hurt to remember.”  
Heero shook his head in the negative.  
“No,” he said. “I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”  
Wufei ran a hand down his face, fingers glancing over his jaw and he leaned down to kiss Heero’s lips.   
Heero kissed him back, savoring the warmth and firmness, but when Wufei’s tongue traced the part between his lips he pulled back.  
Wufei frowned.  
“I met him today, didn’t I? The married man you’ve been sleeping with.”  
Heero sighed.   
“You met them,” Heero corrected him. Maybe it was because this was tonight, and tonight he had no pride left, no self-defense for any of his actions.  
“Them?” Wufei echoed.  
Heero nodded.  
“I’ve been sleeping with both of them.”  
“You’ve been having an affair with both of them?”  
“Together,” Heero felt the need to clarify. At Wufei’s confused look he launched into the entire story, beginning with that one night stand almost a year ago and continuing up to the disastrous Thanksgiving weekend he had endured last week.  
“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Wufei asked him, anger and frustration in his voice. “You deserve so much better.”  
“Do I really?” Heero shook his head. “I’m the selfish bastard who has spent the last four months hoping their marriage stays in shambles so they keep me in their bed. I deserve to be exactly this miserable.”  
“No, you don’t,” Wufei assured him and kissed him again, not allowing Heero to pull back this time.   
Heero gave in to his desire for comfort, for his arousal at Wufei’s touch, for his utter need for human connection on this night, of all nights.

-o-  
Trowa swam with a frown on his face.  
Heero could see it, out of the corner of his eye, every time Trowa’s face turned towards him in the water. He could see it when Trowa hauled himself out of the pool and he stared at it when Trowa sat across from him in the hottub.   
Heero knew the frown was for him. He knew Trowa was frustrated, likely angry, likely beyond the stretch of his patience. But Heero had been expecting this, waiting for this moment since the beginning. He was, however, completely caught off guard when Trowa finally spoke to him.  
“Duo thinks he ruined this. He thinks he scared you when he said he loved you and he thinks you don’t want to be in this with us anymore.”  
“What?” Heero had heard him, which Trowa knew, and the question earned him a patronizing look. “I don’t even know what this is anymore,” Heero snapped.   
Trowa’s frown grew more pronounced.  
“Did you sleep with him?”  
Heero could pretend he didn’t know who Trowa was talking about, but he didn’t see much point in it.  
“Yes.”  
Trowa swallowed hard, his throat muscles working furiously for a moment. He nodded.  
“I don’t know what this is anymore either,” Trowa admitted, his voice low. “Every time we try to bring you closer you pull away more. Maybe we just need to let you go.”  
His words filled Heero with a kind of bottomless dread.  
“You have each other,” he had to point out, “you have your life and your marriage and your future. There isn’t any place for me with you.”  
Trowa shook his head.  
“If you really think that - if you really think you don’t have a place with us, that we don’t want you and need you with us to have our life and our future then we’ve done a damn poor job of showing you how much we care about you. How much we love you.”  
Trowa’s green eyes were intense, his gaze impossible to look away from.  
“But maybe it’s us that are the problem,” Trowa mused. “A life with us - three men living together, working together - it would be unconventional and there are things none of us could have. Maybe giving those things up is too much. Maybe we are too much.”  
Heero hated that this had been turned on him. He wasn’t the one planning to adopt children, he wasn’t the one who was married. He was the one who had nothing.  
“I love you,” Trowa said. “Duo loves you. We want you to be happy - we want to make you happy. But we don’t want to spend the next few months watching your drift further and further away. So you need to decide, you need to end this or you need to be with us, but we can’t keep doing this, not the way things are now.”  
Without waiting for his response, Trowa rose from the hot tub and walked away.  
It was a few minutes before Heero could rouse himself from the warmth of the water, and as he stood the chill air assaulted his skin.  
The holidays, it seemed, were shaping up to be just as miserable as they always were.

-o-  
TBC


	15. Chapter Really, Really Long Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry. It is really, really, really long.

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Sorry for all of the Heero torture. It is cruel and unfair and I… can’t help myself.  
A/N #3: Thanks again for all of the reviews! I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you!  
A/N #4: Kind of a long chapter, lots to cover  
Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Fifteen

Trowa loved Duo. He thought his husband was the funniest man he had ever met, one of the most intelligent, generous, loyal, ruthless and sexiest men he had ever known. He loved him.  
He just needed to keep telling himself that when Duo annoyed the shit out of him, which he was currently doing.  
Despite the fact that Duo logged almost as many frequent flier miles as Trowa, Duo had never particularly enjoyed plane travel and airports made him cranky and anxious. Even when they were in the Air France travel lounge at JFK, away from the hustle of the airport, waiting to board their flight to Paris for their traditional Christmas abroad.   
Trowa, nursing his second glass of red wine and trying to read The Night Circus, found his attention constantly drawn to Duo’s pacing form.  
They spent so much of their days dressed in expensive suits that it still caught Trowa off guard when he saw Duo dressed casually, as he was now, in dark wash jeans, a black shawl collar cardigan and a gray v-neck t-shirt. He looked good, and several men and women in the lounge were keeping up with Duo’s progress as he walked back and forth from between the bar and the windows, his gait slow, nonchalant, trying to hide his anxiety.  
The next time he came within reach, Trowa grabbed his arm and pulled him down to the leather couch he sat on.  
Duo glared at him and Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“If you keep pacing like that TSA agents are going to rush in here and arrest you,” Trowa muttered.  
Duo sighed and leaned back, drumming his fingertips against his right knee.  
Trowa loved Duo. He loved -  
He reached out and captured Duo’s hand in his own.  
“He’s not going to come,” Duo said. He made no move to pull his hand away.  
Trowa frowned. He was inclined to agree with Duo, especially considering that their flight began boarding in thirty minutes.  
It had been a stupid romantic gesture, which Duo had pointed out several times during and after the fact, but Trowa had left a first class ticket to Paris on Heero’s desk two days ago, waiting for Heero to be away and Susan had distracted Gina so he could sneak past her.   
He wondered if Heero had even seen the ticket - he kept his desk pathologically clean and Trowa had propped it against the monitor of his computer, so it should have been impossible to miss. But still, maybe he had. Maybe it was still sitting there, untouched.  
“I think this means he’s made his decision,” Duo said. He turned to face Trowa and offered him a sad smile. “I’m sorry I fucked it up.”  
When Trowa had confronted Heero ten days ago at the gym he had tried to lay things out as clearly and emotionlessly as possible, which had been damned difficult to do considering how empty their apartment and their bed felt without Heero there. It was a cruel irony that he and Duo were more open, more honest, and more united now than they had ever been yet they both felt bereft and incomplete without Heero in their lives.  
Heero had come over the next night for dinner and told them that he needed some time, to think about this, about them and what he wanted and needed. So they had given him time.  
In the mornings, at the gym, Trowa didn’t try to engage Heero in conversation. During the day, at the office, he kept to his office or Duo’s. At night, he and Duo went home and studiously did not talk about Heero.  
At least, they hadn’t until Duo had booked their hotel and plane reservations for Christmas and hesitated when selecting the number of passengers for their flight. Trowa had been the one to select three, the one to print out the ticket, put it in an envelope and leave it on Heero’s desk. Duo had been the one shaking his head and saying it was a stupid romantic gesture and they shouldn’t get their hopes up.  
Trowa sighed and pulled him close for a kiss.  
“You didn’t fuck anything up. Maybe we both did, but it wasn’t you. Maybe it was him. It’s not as if - it’s not as if relationships like ours really work out in the end anyway, is it?”  
Duo sighed again.  
“I really -” Duo stopped talking and smiled, a slow, sexy turn of his lips that made Trowa’s breath catch.   
He turned, following Duo’s gaze, and saw Heero standing in the door of the lounge, a travel bag at his feet and an uncertain expression on his face.  
Duo stood up and Trowa followed him, tucking a bookmark in his book and putting it back in his bag as Duo greeted Heero.  
“I, ah, wasn’t sure you were going to come.”  
Heero looked from Duo to Trowa.  
“I’m still not sure I should,” he admitted.  
“You don’t have to,” Trowa offered and both men turned to look at him, Duo with a shut up expression on his face. “If you need more time - to think about us, about this - we don’t want to rush you to make a decision.” He clarified.  
Heero sighed.  
“I’d be an idiot to turn down the opportunity to spend time with you. But we…”  
“We need to talk,” Duo finished for him. “We know. And we’re going to.”  
Heero nodded in agreement.  
“I booked a separate hotel room. So we can -”  
“No,” Duo and Trowa said together.  
“We already booked a suite,” Trowa said to placate Heero, “so if you don’t want to share our bed you can have your own. We won’t pressure you into anything.”  
Trowa felt stupid, felt like this was the same conversation they had had four months ago and why the hell were they still having it?   
He knew Heero was unhappy in this, knew he wanted more and he knew that he couldn’t do a damn thing to make him happier or give him what he wanted until Heero said something. And Heero seemed perfectly content to say nothing and simply make all of them miserable.  
The intercom announced that their flight was boarding.  
“Well?” Duo asked Heero, an uncertain smile on his face. “Join us for a week in Paris?”  
Heero looked between them again and then nodded.   
“Of course.”  
They were quiet as they walked to the terminal, each lost in their own thoughts. Trowa was confident that Duo’s thoughts revolved around his hatred of airports and innate distrust of flight attendants that smiled too broadly, but it was hard to read Heero.  
Trowa bumped his shoulder against Heero’s, catching his attention.  
“I’m glad you came,” Trowa told him.  
Heero’s lips tipped upwards, ever so slightly, and it felt damn good to see him smile again - even if it was a miniscule smile.  
As they shuffled onto the plane and stowed their bags overhead in the first class section Duo put a hand on Heero’s chest.  
“Okay. This is the most important decision you’re going to make for this entire week,” Duo said.  
His words made Heero narrow his eyes.  
“Do you want to sit by the window and have Trowa drool on your shoulder when he falls asleep, or do you want to sit in the middle and have Trowa drool on your shoulder when he falls asleep but be beside me so we can play footsie.”  
Heero’s shoulders sagged in relief.  
“I do not drool,” Trowa muttered in self defense and Duo gave him a patronizing look.  
“Of course you don’t, babe,” he said and Trowa glared at him.  
“I can sit in the middle,” Heero decided.  
Trowa squeezed past them and took his window seat, sinking back into the plush chair and closing his eyes. They clearly still had a long week ahead of them, and Trowa certainly hoped that most of it was pleasant, but he was enough of a realist to know that Heero coming to Paris with them did not mean Heero had a future with them.  
“Is he asleep already?” He heard Heero ask Duo.  
“Nah. But he will be as soon as the plane takes off. Every damn time. Here, you might want to put this blanket on your shoulder to catch the drool.”  
“You aren’t funny,” Trowa muttered, but he didn’t bother to open his eyes to glare at Duo, he knew it was what Duo wanted.  
“Course I am. I’m funny, right Heero?”  
“Sometimes,” Heero allowed and Trowa smirked in triumphant.  
He listened to the two of them talk about the cases they had been working on and realized with a pang of regret that Duo genuinely missed Heero as a partner - they had worked on the YSI case for months together, had spent nearly every work day with each other, and Duo had spent the last two weeks with virtually no interaction with him.  
By the time the plane took off and Trowa starting drifting off to sleep they had moved on to sports, talking about the Red Sox prospects for next year, and Trowa fell asleep and dreamed of the three of them seeing a game at Fenway Park together.

-o-  
He woke up, eight hours later, and discovered that Duo and Heero were drunk.   
They had apparently put quite a dent in the vodka onboard and Trowa felt ridiculous escorting the two men through customs while they struggled to attempt sobriety.  
Duo leaned heavily against Heero while they stood in line and Trowa could see Heero leaning into the contact, smiling drunkenly back at Duo when Duo grinned at him.  
Trowa didn’t get to see goofy-drunk Duo too often. Usually he only drank this much if he was angry or stressed, and while Duo certainly had been stressed for most of the day, the eight hour plane ride and however much vodka he had consumed had taken him right past angry and determined-drunk Duo to goofy-drunk Duo. Trowa loved sexy-drunk Duo, but goofy-drunk Duo had always been his favorite.  
Even though he had to reach out and help steady them a few times as they collected their luggage and waded through the crowd to catch a taxi, Trowa was happy. He felt ridiculous, but he was happy that, at least for the next week, both of these gorgeous, goofy-drunk men were his.   
And maybe, if he didn’t fuck this up, he’d have both of them around for much longer than that.  
The forty minute taxi ride was… interesting, to say the least. Duo carried on a conversation in French with the driver, asking him his opinions on French pop music after he recognized a song on the radio.  
With Duo leaning forward to rest his arms on the back of the front passenger seat, Trowa leaned closer to Heero and Heero shifted so that he was pressed against Trowa’s side.  
“I didn’t figure you for the goofy-drunk type,” he confessed.  
Heero shrugged.  
“I never figured myself for the goofy-drunk type either,” he said and tugged on the end of Duo’s braid, “his fault.”  
Duo shot a look over his shoulder at them, arching at eyebrow at the tug on his braid and then smirking when he saw the way Heero was leaning against Trowa, resting his head on Trowa’s shoulder. He turned back to the cab driver.  
“What did you two talk about on the plane?”   
Heero chuckled and the low, throaty sound made Trowa’s pulse race. He had missed Heero’s laugh.  
“Baseball, then hockey, then we got bored with the champagne and started playing a drinking game with vodka.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“What drinking game?”  
“Legal Never Have I Ever.”  
Trowa burst out laughing.  
The mental image of Heero and Duo, twenty eight year old men, playing “legal” Never Have I Ever might be the funniest thing he had pictured in a long time.  
“You realize that might be the nerdiest possible drinking game in the world,” he had to point out.  
Heero nodded ruefully.  
“I told Duo, but he said that Star Wars drinking games were worse - I can’t believe he doesn’t like Star Wars.”  
“I know,” Trowa commisserated. “I know. Maybe next -” he bit his lip and stopped himself from saying Maybe next year we can watch them in bed together. He was sure Duo would maintain an interest in the films if there was sex involved, but he had no idea if Heero would be part of their lives next Thanksgiving.  
Heero sighed and closed his eyes, his head a warm weight on Trowa’s shoulder and Trowa resisted the urge to wrap his arm around him. Instead, he contented himself with placing a discrete kiss on top of his head.  
Apparently goofy-drunk Heero quickly turned into sleepy-drunk Heero.  
By the time they arrived at the Hotel Pont Royal, Duo seemed to have sobered up slightly and Trowa gently shook Heero awake. It was after midnight in Paris, but only six back in New York and Trowa was anything but tired.  
He could tell, however, that Heero’s conscious status was only temporary and that Duo’s drifting towards sobriety would quickly be followed by a slide into drowsiness.   
A porter escorted them to the eighth floor and their suite, dutifully placing his and Duo’s luggage in the large, master bedroom and Heero’s in the adjoining bedroom before accepting a tip from Trowa and leaving.  
Duo and Heero were standing in front of the balcony windows, the lights of Paris stretched out before them, and Trowa had to swallow hard against an intense and sudden ache in his chest.  
He loved Duo. He had loved Duo since the first day of their internship when he had seen Duo trip, smack his face into a wall and casually pretend nothing had happened.  
And he loved Heero. He had loved Heero… it was harder to define just when the change had occurred, when he had gone from feeling lust and companionship to something more, but he thought it was probably the Sunday the three of them had walked around Central Park together after a morning in bed and some kid had had his older brother shove him down and dropped his ice cream and Heero had bought him another one and then blushed when he saw Trowa and Duo watching him.  
Looking at the two men he loved standing together reminded Trowa of just how very lucky he was - and just how very difficult it was going to be to make this work.  
He walked up to them and Duo leaned back against him, tucking his head under Trowa’s chin and Trowa reached out with his left arm, wrapping it around Heero’s waist and pulling him in close.  
He wouldn’t pressure Heero to join them in bed, but he’d be damned if he didn’t take the opportunity to hold him if that opportunity presented itself.  
Heero fit against his side perfectly, and after a moment Heero’s right arm mirrored Trowa’s, wrapping around his waist and holding him.  
Eventually, Duo spoke up, breaking the silence.  
“So… our first night together in Paris. What do you want to do?” He directed the question towards Heero.  
Heero seemed to be considering the question, but then he yawned.  
Duo chuckled.  
“Alright, our first night in Paris and you want to go to bed. Not the worst plan. Tro?”  
“I’m not tired,” he confessed, “but I can read after you two drunks pass out.”  
Duo elbowed him sharply.  
“You’re not tired because you took an eight hour nap on the plane,” he grumbled.   
“I’m sorry,” Heero apologized. “I’m sure you had plans to -”  
“No need to apologize,” Duo interrupted him. “The only plans we had were plans to spend time with you.”  
Heero turned his head to look at them.   
“I guess, I’ll see you in the morning?” He pulled away from Trowa.  
“The bed in our room is the same size as our bed at home,” Trowa said but let him go.  
Heero frowned slightly.  
“I really am tired,” he hedged.  
Duo sighed.  
“We want you in our bed for more than sex, Heero. But if you… if you’d rather sleep alone then you… well, yeah.”  
Duo was clearly trying to hide his hurt and irritation at Heero’s behaviour.  
Trowa was feeling a fair amount of hurt and irritation himself. But then again - he realized that Heero had never shared their bed unless it was for sex. Yes, he stayed the night when he came over and he seemed perfectly content to let Trowa curl up around him or, more often than not, wrapped himself around Duo while Trowa spooned his husband. But sex had always been involved.  
Trowa reached out and tugged on Heero’s hand.  
“Come to bed.”  
Heero looked at him and nodded, allowing Trowa to guide him into their bedroom.  
Duo was frowning, however, as he started to undress.  
“First time for everything,” Trowa told him, softly, hoping Heero didn’t overhear and hoping that Duo understood him well enough to come to the same realization that Trowa just had.  
Duo stared at him for a moment and then swore softly.  
“We’re idiots,” he decided.  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
Meanwhile, as Trowa and Duo realized yet another way they had fucked this up, Heero had stripped down to his boxers.   
Duo removed all of his clothes and then rooted around in his luggage until he found his flannel pajama bottoms and pulled them on.  
“This place doesn’t have the best heating,” he told Heero. “Even with three of us in bed it might get chilly.”  
Heero nodded and started towards the door, but Trowa stopped him.  
“I’ll grab your bags,” he said. It was manipulative, yes, but Trowa felt fairly confident that there was a chance that letting Heero walk out now would lead to them sleeping in separate beds. Besides, getting Heero’s luggage in here was a step in the direction towards making sure he didn’t step foot in that other room at all.  
Duo was brushing his teeth when he came back, and Heero took his luggage with a rueful smile - he clearly knew what Trowa had been planning - and pulled out the gray knit pants he usually slept in.  
Trowa loved those pants. They rode low on Heero’s hips, just barely hugging the curve of his ass and Trowa already had many fond memories of tugging at the drawstring and pulling them down to get to Heero’s cock.  
He forced those thoughts away. Sex was definitely not on the table tonight, and there was no need to torture himself by thinking about Heero’s cock.  
Heero took his turn in the bathroom after Duo, and Duo crawled into the bed and gave Trowa a significant look.  
“We’ve got to fix this,” Duo said to him.  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
Duo reached out and squeezed his hand and Trowa squeezed back.  
Trowa traded places with Heero in the bathroom, emptying his bladder before washing his hands and face and brushing his teeth.  
When he came back into the bedroom, Duo and Heero were under the heavy comforter, facing each other on their sides and speaking in low voices.  
He undressed and waited for them to include him in the conversation.  
“We were just debating whether or not it would be worth the hassle to go out and see Versailles this time of year,” Duo told him.  
Trowa shrugged and put on his pajamas, a pair of faded Red Sox sweats he had liberated from Duo’s side of the bureau years ago.  
He pulled back the comforter on Heero’s side of the bed and waited for Heero to move over, closer to Duo, before he got into bed with them.  
“We went… three years ago?” Trowa remembered. He shrugged. “It was okay. I’d like to go again if you two want to.”  
He settled against Heero’s back and wrapped his arm around his waist. After a moment, Heero shifted closer and settled against him.  
Duo smirked, the expression soft and sleepy.   
Trowa felt the brush of his leg as Duo edged closer, until they were a tangle of limbs and bodies.   
Trowa reached behind him to turn off the bedside light.  
Despite the fact that he wasn’t the least bit tired, he stayed in bed with Duo and Heero, listening to the sounds of their breath even out as they fell asleep, and he tried to figure out what else they had been doing wrong and what they could do to fix it.  
-o-

When Trowa woke up the next morning he was alone in bed. He reached over to feel the sheets where Duo and Heero had slept the night before, but they were cool to the touch, indicating that they had been up for some time.  
Frowning, Trowa rose from the bed and walked into the living area of the suite. It was quiet, and empty. There was no sign of Duo or Heero in the living area or the adjoining room.  
Maybe they had gone out to get breakfast?   
Trowa brushed his teeth and contemplated taking a shower.  
The door to the hotel opened and Duo and Heero walked in.  
They were smiling at each other, and they were wearing sweatpants and t-shirts darkened with sweat.  
Trowa frowned.  
Had they gone running together? Paris was the one place Duo didn’t usually get up and go for a morning run, especially this time of year. But maybe with Heero he had -  
“Hey, sorry we tried to wake you up but you were mumbled something about Swedish porn and wouldn’t budge.” Duo smirked at him.  
Trowa rolled his eyes.   
“You two went for a run?”  
“Nah, the hotel gym.”  
Trowa looked between them, at the satisfied smirk on Heero’s face and the way Duo was biting his lower lip, a sure sign that he expected Trowa to get pissed.  
It took a moment, but then Trowa realized what was going on.  
“This has to stop, right now,” he said to Heero.  
Both men looked at him in surprise.  
“Tro -” Duo started to say.  
“No. I see what you’re doing, Heero. You did it at Thanksgiving when you told Duo to talk to me - you’re trying to fix us so you can just walk away. Taking Duo to the gym and convincing him to start working out with me in the morning isn’t going to mean I don’t want you there too. I want you and we need you, not to fix us, but to be with us. So stop trying to… stop preparing us for life without you.”  
Trowa tried very hard not to glare at Heero and instead settled for staring at him, willing him to see how much this wasn’t right.  
“Um, well, it was my idea to go to the gym this morning,” Duo said, stepping between them. “I was the one who dragged Heero out of bed because I have no fucking clue what those machines do and… well, I was thinking I could start going to the gym with you guys a few days a week - not every day, but…” Duo trailed off and shrugged.  
“Oh.” Trowa felt like an idiot. “Sorry,” he said.  
Heero sighed.  
“I’m not preparing you two for life without me, I’m preparing me for life without you.”  
Trowa frowned and Duo turned to look at Heero.  
“Why?” Duo asked.  
“Because this isn’t going to last - and I keep telling myself that I should just enjoy the time I get to spend with you and not let it bother me but it does bother me.” Heero ran a frustrated hand through his sweat slicked hair. “You love me,” he said, his gaze taking in both of them and his voice unsteady, “and I - you have a life together. You have plans and I’m not part of any of that. You’re already putting your adoption plans on hold for me, aren’t you?”  
Duo sighed and looked at the ground for a moment.  
“No, we didn’t put them on hold.” He looked back at Trowa. “There’s no way we’d ever get approved for adoption as a married couple with a lover.”  
Heero frowned, trying to work out how what Duo had said was different than what he had said.  
“A permanent lover,” Trowa added and Duo nodded in agreement.  
“Why?” Heero asked, and it was clear he really had no idea why Duo and Trowa would change their plans to accommodate him.  
Trowa sighed.  
“You said it - we love you. We want you in our lives. As more than someone we have sex with, more than someone we work out with or work with. Duo gave you that key because we want you there, at home, with us.”  
“But your family -”  
“We want you as our family,” Duo interrupted, “and apparently we’ve done a shit job of showing you that,” he continued in an undertone. “But… but here’s the thing.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow, clearing recognizing Duo’s serious tone from having worked with him for so long.  
“Trowa and I know what we want. We know what we would do to have you in our lives and - it’s not like we’re giving something up, we’re just rethinking things. But you - maybe you don’t want this. It’s not… hell, it’s not normal for three men to be in this kind of a relationship. It’s not going to be easy, figuring all of this out and maybe - maybe you want to be with someone like Wufei. Maybe you want to get married and have kids and do all of these things that you can’t do with us.” Duo shrugged. “Maybe this isn’t something that can work.”  
Heero was quiet for a long, tense moment.  
“I’m not worth it,” he finally said.  
“Yes, you fucking are,” Duo said.  
Heero shook his head.  
“No. I’m not. I’m not someone you want to share your life with. I’m not worth giving up on children and -”  
“You are,” it was Trowa’s turn to interrupt. “You are worth every effort we can make to have you with us.”  
Heero glared at him.  
“I am not,” he insisted. “You don’t know - you don’t know what a disappointment and failure I am. You have no idea how little you should care about me. I am not the man you think I am.”  
“Then who are you?” Duo asked. “Because the man I know sure as hell isn’t a disappointment or a failure. The man I know is generous and intelligent and insightful and too damn selfless most of the time and I care about him, a lot. And I’m not sure I appreciate the way you talk about him.”  
“I am not selfless,” Heero snarled. “I’m selfish - I’m selfish and jealous and I am a disappointment.” He shook his head and then laughed bitterly. “Do you have any idea how jealous I am of the time you two spend together? Of your past together and your future? You go home together every day, you share a bed every night, you wake up with each other every day. I’m not allowed to be with one of you if the other one doesn’t… doesn’t give me permission and I’m not part of your lives. I want more than permission - I want more than a few nights a week as a guest. I’m selfish, because I want everything that the two of you have together and I can’t have it. I can’t have you the way you two have each other and it kills me.”  
“Oh.” Duo seemed at a loss for words.  
“When Duo gave you the key to our apartment he did it because we want you there, with us, all of the time. He gave you the key because you aren’t a guest, because you are a part of our lives and we want you there, we want to go home with you and share a bed with you and wake up with you. And you aren’t the only selfish one, or the only jealous one here,” Trowa added. “I’m selfish and jealous and greedy and I want you - I want time with you and Duo and time with you and me and yes, I want time with me and Duo, but I don’t want it instead of time with you. I want everything.”  
“I’m sorry,” Duo said, “about the permission thing, about being stupid and thinking the two of you would fall in love and walk away from me. It took me a few months to get over myself and realize that that wasn’t going to happen. You don’t need permission to be with either of us - or both of us. And I’m sorry, I guess, that Trowa and I have our past together, I’m not sorry for it - but I’m sorry you think it makes what we have with you less or you less important. I never wanted you to feel like a guest or - or an outsider in this.”  
Duo ran a hand through his hair.  
“I fucked this up and I’m sorry I -”  
“You haven’t fucked anything up,” Heero insisted. “I’m the one who wants more and -”  
“We want more too,” Trowa interrupted him.   
Heero stared at him.  
“We need more,” Trowa continued. “I need more. I need you. I need you as my friend and my lover.”  
Heero continued to stare, a slight frown on his face and Trowa could tell that Heero wanted to give in, wanted to stop fighting.  
“Duo needs you too,” Trowa continued and he stepped towards to Duo and pulled him close, Duo’s back pressed against his front.  
Trowa rested his hands on Duo’s hips, waiting for Heero’s attention to drift there before he slowly started to raise Duo’s shirt up his torso, skimming his hands over Duo’s firm flesh.  
“He needs you to show him how the machines in the hotel gym work,” Trowa said as he pulled the shirt over Duo’s head.  
Duo shivered in the chill of the hotel room and as Trowa ran his hands back down Duo’s chest he could feel his nipples already hard from the cold.  
“He needs you to stand by him when he faces his nightmares.”  
Trowa toyed with Duo’s hard nipples, rolling and pinching them until Duo gasped and Heero’s eyes narrowed.  
“He needs you to remind him how strong he is, how brilliant and undefeatable he is.”  
Duo moaned and threw his head back, resting it on Trowa’s shoulder as he continued to tease him.  
“He needs you to make him laugh at your obscure sports references that no one else understands.”  
Duo gave a throaty chuckle at that, the sound pure sex and Heero was visibly affected by it.  
Trowa abandoned Duo’s chest and traced his fingers over the planes of Duo’s stomach, down to his hips and under the waistband of Duo’s sweatpants.  
“He needs you to remind him that he has something to look forward to after spending hours and days and weeks on divorce cases.”  
Trowa slowly tugged the sweatpants down Duo’s hips. They caught on his erection until Trowa pulled them past it, and Duo’s cock sprang free. The sweatpants fell to Duo’s ankles but he made no move to step out of them or away from Trowa.  
“Apparently he needs you to remind him to wear underwear when he goes to the gym,” Trowa muttered.  
Duo chuckled again and Heero smirked.  
Trowa could see the evidence of Heero’s arousal tenting the front of his sweatpants, but Heero remained several feet away, still watching, still waiting.  
Trowa ran his hands over Duo’s thighs, kneading the firm flesh until Duo was flexing and spreading his legs, desperate for more attention.  
Trowa raked his short nails over the inside of Duo’s thighs and he made an inarticulate sound.  
“He needs you to help him with dirty little surprises for my birthday,” Trowa said and Duo, head still thrown back, nodded eagerly.  
“He needs you to go to Yankee Stadium with him when the Red Sox are in town and make sure he doesn’t get into a fight with fourteen year olds over who has the better team.”  
Trowa ghosted his fingers over Duo’s balls and his cock, running them up to the head and smearing the bead of precum there.  
Duo’s hips jerked forward.  
“He needs you to trust him when he says he loves you and wants you in his life.”  
Heero swallowed hard at that.  
Trowa wrapped his hand around Duo’s cock and stroked him, firm and fast, the way Duo always liked it.  
“But right now, more than anything else, Duo needs you to fuck him, Heero.”  
Heero still made no move forward.  
Duo moaned.  
“Please, ‘Ro,” he panted and Trowa watched the effect of Duo’s voice and Duo’s words transform Heero’s face.  
Heero crossed the room, sandwiching Duo between them, and kissed Trowa.  
Trowa kept one hand on Duo’s cock but wrapped his other around Heero’s neck, keeping him close.  
The press of Heero’s tongue against his own was electric and Trowa shuddered. He couldn’t imagine anything better than this - Duo naked and writhing against him while Heero kissed him like there was nothing in the world worth doing except kissing him.  
He felt Duo’s hands on Heero, tugging at his clothes and massaging his cock through the sweatpants, their hands bumping against each other.  
“Bedroom,” Duo said.  
Heero pulled back from the kiss and stared at Trowa with lust darkened eyes.  
“I can’t even think when you look at me like that,” Trowa told him.  
Heero smirked and kissed him again.  
Duo wiggled out of Trowa’s grip and knelt between them, tugging down Heero’s sweatpants and, judging by Heero’s sharp intake of breath, sucking on his cock.  
Trowa pulled Heero’s shirt off and started to kiss and lick his way down Heero’s chest and waist until he was kneeling beside Duo.  
Together they licked Heero’s cock, suckled on his balls and Heero moaned.   
Duo grinned at him and then stood up, letting Trowa take over while he kissed Heero.  
Trowa reached out to continue stroking Duo’s cock and he listened to the moans and gasps of the two men as he worked their erections, sucking on Heero’s cock and stroking Duo’s until he had both men close to orgasm.  
“I want you inside me, ‘Ro,” he heard Duo say and he felt Heero shudder.  
Trowa pulled away and looked up at them, at their glazed eyes and flushed faces.  
They were beautiful, absolutely perfect, and they were his.  
“Bedroom?” Duo suggested again, and this time Heero nodded.  
He looked down at Trowa.  
“You’re a little overdressed,” he commented.  
Trowa stood up and pulled down his pajamas, gratified that both men looked at his naked body hungrily.  
“Better?” He asked.  
Heero nodded in approval.  
“Much.”  
Duo grinned and kissed Heero again.  
“Where do you want Trowa? While you’re fucking me?”  
“I want you inside me,” Heero said, looking at Trowa. “I need you.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“I need you,” he replied and Heero’s lips turned upwards.  
Trowa found the lube in Duo’s carry-on - he had no idea why Duo had put it in his carry-on instead of the luggage he had checked, but at the moment he didn’t care all that much.  
He joined them on the bed and squeezed some onto his fingers before passing it to Heero.  
Duo laid down and spread his legs wide so that Heero could kneel between them and Trowa settled himself behind Heero.  
This was one of his favorite positions, fucking Heero while he fucked Duo, each thrust of his cock sending Heero’s deeper inside of Duo, listening to all of them moan and gasp, listening to Duo beg for more, watching Duo’s eyes widen and his jaw go slack when he came, feeling the clench of Heero’s body around his as Duo’s orgasm triggered his and in turn, coming deep inside Heero’s body as Heero whispered their names and clutched Duo’s hips.  
Trowa took his time preparing Heero, slowly stretching him with his fingers and teasing his prostate until Heero was trembling.  
“Please,” Heero said. “I need more.”  
Trowa wondered if this was going to become a thing - saying they needed something.   
“So does Duo,” Trowa told him and kissed his shoulder.  
Heero had been taking his time with Duo as well, and Trowa waited and watched while Heero slid his cock inside Duo’s anus.  
Duo moaned at the sensation.  
“Yes,” he said. “Fuck you feel good, ‘Ro. I’ve missed having your cock inside me.”  
Heero leaned forward to kiss Duo and Trowa took the opportunity to ease himself into Heero, working the head of his cock past the tight ring of muscle.  
Heero groaned, still kissing Duo, and Trowa slid home, burying himself deep inside of Heero.  
He pulled out and then slid back in, carrying Heero forward into Duo and both men moaned.  
Yes, this was definitely one of Trowa’s favorite positions.  
He set a slow pace, fucking both of them leisurely, enjoying the tight sheath of Heero’s body around him, the tremble of his thighs, the taste of sweat on his skin.  
Duo started to stroke himself and Trowa knew he was close, knew that Duo could probably come from having his ass fucked alone but that he liked to control it sometimes, liked triggering his own orgasm because it got the rest of them off as well.  
Sure enough, when Duo came with a gasp, Heero followed and Trowa did as well.  
Afterwards, they lay on the bed in a mess of sticky flesh and Trowa didn’t think he had ever had a better start to a day than this.

-o-  
On Christmas Eve Heero and Trowa sat on the couch reading while Duo called his mother.  
“I’m surprised you don’t spend Christmas with her,” Heero said, distracted from his book by Duo’s pacing.  
Trowa grinned as he remembered the first night he and Duo had been together, that last night of their internship five years ago when they had planned out their engagement, their wedding and honeymoon, vacation home and Christmas’s in Paris.  
“We agreed from the start on Christmas in Paris.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow, clearly wanting to ask but hesitant to do so.  
“When Duo gets off the phone we’ll have to tell you how we met.”  
Heero settled back on the couch and leaned against Trowa.  
“Is this the kind of story that involves late nights and legal briefs or hot sex?”  
“Both,” Trowa assured him. “If you’re interested, we can even re-enact some of it for you.”  
Heero chuckled.  
“Sounds good.”  
Trowa heard Duo telling his mother about the symphony they had attended last night and he found himself growing aroused at the memory.  
The symphony had been enjoyable - it had been a collection of holiday-esque classical music performed at La Sainte Chapelle - but Trowa had quickly learned that Heero had about as much affinity for classical music as Duo did, and all three of them had enjoyed themselves at the hotel room, after the concert, more than they had enjoyed the concert itself.   
He had allowed Duo and Heero to collect that raincheck from months ago, when he had promised to let them do whatever they wanted to him, and it had resulted in several hours of torture as the two men truly had their way with him.   
He had tied Duo up, once, a few years ago, but had never had the favor returned until last night. Duo had taken it one step further, however, and blindfolded him as well. As a result, he had to rely on memory to determine whose mouth was on his cock and whose teeth were biting his nipples, whose cock he sucked, whose ass rode his cock, whose cum he tasted on his lips.  
“How is your sister?” Heero asked him, drawing Trowa’s mind out of the gutter as he wondered whether or not he could subtly convince Duo and Heero to do that to him again in the future.  
“She’s good,” Trowa told him. “She has a show tonight but then she’s off for a few days. I’ll have to call her tomorrow.”   
Christmas was not his and Catharine’s favorite time of the year. They had too many fond memories of Christmas spent with their parents as children. So, unlike Duo who annually had to do battle with Helen to win her agreement to not join them in Paris for Christmas, Trowa had always had Catharine’s blessing to spend the holiday screwing like rabbits under the mistletoe, as she liked to say.  
“Okay. Mom says hi.” Duo finally ended his call and joined them on the couch, flopping down so that his head was in Trowa’s lap and his feet dangled over the other end of the couch.  
“Really?” Trowa had to ask.  
Duo nodded.  
“Yeah. Well, she said to tell Heero hi when we saw him next and she said that she hoped you enjoyed the concert last night.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow. It was a far cry from merry Christmas, but it was still the nicest thing she had likely ever said.  
Duo poked Heero in the side.  
“What about you? Any phone calls you want to make to wish someone a Merry Christmas before we go out for dinner?”  
Heero shook his head, a dark look on his face.  
“Not Wufei? Not your… family?”  
“My family would rather never speak to me again, and after I told Wufei I was coming to Paris with you two he would rather not speak to me again for the next few months.”  
Trowa couldn’t really blame Wufei for feeling that way.   
“So, remember how we keep saying we should talk about things?” Duo said, his blue gaze focused on Heero’s tense face. “I’m thinking this is one of those things we need to talk about.”  
Apparently need was going to become a thing for them after all.  
“Wufei -”  
“Not him so much, unless you want to,” Duo quickly added. “I meant your family.”  
Heero sighed.  
“You want to know about my family.”  
“Yeah. Or at least why you never talk about them or spend holidays with them.” He sat up and his face was set in determined lines.  
Trowa had been confronted with that look before, and judging by the way Heero’s shoulders slumped, he had as well.  
“I never spend holidays with them because they disowned me. I don’t talk about them because there’s not much to say.”  
“Why did they disown you?” Trowa asked. He could see Duo’s anger building and he knew that Duo was already a heartbeat away from full on crusade mode.   
“Because I let my sister die.”  
“What?” Duo was startled out of his righteous anger.  
“When I was fifteen. My sister and I were walking on the street and she dropped her bag and I let go of her hand and she fell and a bus ran over her. I - I let her die.”  
Duo stared at him, mouth open in horror.  
The look on Heero’s face made it clear that he expected them to hate him for this revelation, and Trowa felt his own share of righteous anger at Heero’s expression.  
“That’s why you tried to kill yourself,” Duo said.  
Heero nodded.  
Trowa had seen the scar on Heero’s wrist, had known immediately what it had to mean. He had assumed that Heero would talk to them about it when he was ready. Like many other things Trowa had assumed, that was clearly not the case.   
“You’re an idiot,” Duo said. “A complete fucking idiot.”  
“I know,” Heero cleared his throat. “I failed her. I failed them and -”  
“No,” Duo interrupted him angrily. “You didn’t fail her or them. They failed you. It - it was an accident! It wasn’t your fucking fault!”  
Heero shook his head.  
“I was supposed to protect her and -”  
“What could you have done differently?” Trowa asked him. He realized belatedly that he and Duo had spent most of the week interrupting Heero, but, to be fair to them, Heero had been in the process of saying a lot of stupid things this week.  
“What?” Heero seemed surprised by Trowa’s question and the even tone he delivered it in.  
“What could you have done differently? When she died - what could you have changed to prevent her death?”  
“I could have held her hand tighter,” Heero whispered.  
“Really?”  
Trowa held out his own hand.  
“Show me how tightly you held onto her.”  
Heero looked at him with haunted eyes.  
“Show me.”  
Trowa knew he was speaking coldly, knew he had slipped into lawyer mode and he realized that Heero hadn’t seen him like this before. He didn’t do this often outside of the courtroom, had only ever done this to Duo twice - once when he had freaked out about the possibility of not being named a junior partner and then last year, when Duo had asked him to, had wanted to have Trowa cold and distant with Sex Me Your Honor hair as they fucked. This wasn’t like either of those times.  
Heero reluctantly took hold of Trowa’s wrist.  
Trowa tugged sharply and Heero’s fingers tightened. Trowa tugged, twisting his wrist and breaking free.  
“How old was she?”  
“Eight.”  
“So her hand was smaller than mine. And you were fifteen. Your grip wasn’t as strong then as it is now. What time of year was it?”  
“Early December. It was snowing.”  
Early December.  
Trowa exchanged a look with Duo. They had both taken note of that day Wufei showed up at the office, at the resigned look on Heero’s face as they walked down the hall together. They clearly hadn’t been sneaking off for an afternoon fuck.  
“So you were wearing gloves,” Trowa concluded.  
Heero nodded.  
“Knit ones or -”  
“Nylon.”  
“Slippery, then, when it’s wet. There’s no way you could have held onto a little girl’s hand under those conditions.”  
Heero opened his mouth to argue, but Trowa continued.  
“What else could you have done differently?”  
“I could have tried to pick her up or -”  
“How much time elapsed between her falling and the bus hitting her?”  
Heero frowned.  
“Maybe ten or fifteen seconds.”  
Trowa could not even begin to imagine how awful that had been for Heero. He forced himself to remain focused.  
“Duo, stand up.”  
Duo gave him a sharp look and shook his head.   
“Duo,” he repeated, adding a pleading note to his voice. Maybe he was taking this too far, but he knew Heero well enough by now to know that he was someone who dealt in concrete facts. Sitting here and telling Heero he was an idiot and that it wasn’t his fault meant nothing unless they could prove it to him.  
Duo sighed and stood up. Trowa did so as well and guided him over to a clear area.  
Trowa held out his hand and Duo took it, a worried look on his face.  
“On the count of three, let go of my hand and fall down,” he instructed Duo. “We can see how long -”  
“No,” Heero jumped up from the couch. His voice was ragged. “No. I can’t - I can’t watch Duo die too.”  
That brought Trowa up short.  
“Fuck,” Duo muttered. He let go of Trowa’s hand and walked over to Heero and pulled him close in a tight hug.  
“You’re right,” Heero breathed. “You’re right, Trowa. I couldn’t have saved her. There was nothing I could do.”  
Trowa felt like a complete and utter asshole. He had not wanted to make Heero feel helpless. He had simply wanted him to understand that - that he had been helpless, Trowa realized.  
He sighed and approached the two men, hesitating for a moment before wrapping his arms around Heero as well.  
“I couldn’t save my Dad or my brother,” Duo said, his voice thick with emotion.   
Trowa swallowed hard. He hated hearing Duo’s voice like that.   
“I couldn’t save my parents,” he whispered against Heero’s hair.   
“But you saved me, Heero,” Duo said. “You saved me and you saved us. It’s not the same. It’s not - we aren’t her. We aren’t them. But you saved us.”  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
“Let us return the favor,” he said, hoping Heero understood just how much he wanted to, how much he and Duo needed to.

-o-  
On Christmas morning Trowa woke up alone again.   
He doubted that Duo and Heero were at the hotel gym - they had gone twice that week, once with Trowa, but after last night Trowa doubted either man would be up for the exercise.   
They had skipped dinner and instead spent most of the night sitting on the couch, talking about their pasts, sharing the details of those they had loved and lost. It had been painful, and not at all what Trowa had envisioned doing on Christmas Eve when they had planned this trip and he had purchased Heero’s ticket, but it had been necessary and cathartic. He had told Duo about his parents years ago, and Duo given him a few details about his father and brother, but they hadn’t spoken about them at length, not until last night.  
By the time they crawled into bed it was two in the morning and sex had been the farthest thing from Trowa’s mind until Heero, curled around Duo, had leaned over and kissed him goodnight, his lips lingering for a moment and his tongue softly running over Trowa’s mouth until he opened for him.   
They had taken it slow, touching each other reverently, lovingly, lavishing attention on each other’s bodies, trying to kiss and caress away the pain and loss.   
When Trowa came, buried deep inside of Heero, Duo inside of him, it had felt like release and forgiveness and acceptance and Trowa had had to swallow back a lump in his throat.  
He wasn’t sure he needed to feel like that often, but he had certainly needed it last night.  
An investigation of the living room revealed Duo and Heero hastily decorating a holly tree in a pot.  
Trowa leaned against the bedroom doorway and crossed his arms while he watched them.  
They had never bothered with a tree or even a tree substitute in the past - but before last night, Duo hadn’t known that Trowa didn’t like Christmas trees because they reminded Trowa of picking out a tree with his father every year.  
They must have gotten up early to go out and buy decorations - Trowa didn’t even know where they had found the tree - and on the coffee table there was a spread of fruit and pastries.   
Duo’s father had apparently always cooked a huge breakfast on Christmas morning, and Christmas morning was the one day of the year when Duo always slept in until nearly noon so that he could avoid eating breakfast.  
And this, Trowa had learned last night, would be the first Christmas Heero had celebrated with anyone since his sister’s death.   
Duo turned and caught sight of Trowa standing there. He grinned at him.  
“Morning, lazy.”  
Trowa rolled his eyes.  
“It’s not even nine - I am not lazy.”  
He looked over their tree as Duo and Heero backed away from it.   
“Where did you even find that?”  
Duo looked sheepish and Heero smirked.  
“Don’t tell me you stole it!”  
“Stole is a pretty harsh way of putting it,” Duo said and Heero chuckled. “I maybe borrowed it from the tea room downstairs while Heero distracted a waiter.”  
Trowa turned to Heero and arched an eyebrow.  
“You encouraged this?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“He would have done it anyway. I just made sure he wasn’t caught.”  
Trowa rolled his eyes and then kissed both of them.  
“If I wake up tomorrow to find you two in a prison cell I will not bail you out,” he warned.  
“I don’t think they’ll call in the gendarmes over a holly tree,” Duo said, “but if they do I’ll keep that in mind.”  
Trowa noticed that there was already a small gathering of presents under the tree.  
Duo followed his gaze.  
“Why don’t we eat and then open them?” He suggested.  
Trowa nodded in agreement.  
“I’ll get mine,” he told them.   
He had felt like a bit of a fool this year. He only had one gift to give and he had, up until yesterday, still not known whether or not he would give it. After last night, however, he finally thought that he had made a good decision.  
He placed the small box under the tree, ignoring Duo’s raised eyebrow, and joined them for breakfast.  
None of them were overly eager to open the gifts, but eventually Duo suggested they get it over with so they could spend the rest of the day in bed together.  
Trowa didn’t necessarily need the hint - Duo almost without fail, gave him sexually themed Christmas, birthday and anniversary presents. It seemed that Duo had a hard time taking the idea of thoughtful or romantic gifts seriously on these special occasions, but for the rest of the year, at the times when Trowa least expected it, Duo would surprise him with a romantic gift or gesture, so Trowa didn’t begrudge Duo’s sex themed gifts. Especially since they always led to sex.  
“Okay, who wants to go first?” Duo asked.  
“I will,” Heero said and passed a slim, rectangular box towards Trowa and a slightly larger one to Duo.  
Duo carefully opened his, tearing the thick silver paper wrapping the box with precision. He opened up the box inside and revealed a swim cap, goggles and a pair or red and black jammers.   
“Just… in case you do want to swim with us sometime,” Heero said.  
Duo stared at the box and then over at Heero.  
Trowa had asked Duo several times over the years to join him, but he had never gone so far as to buy him swim gear - he had assumed that Duo could just share his. But it was clear, from the look on Duo’s face, that Heero’s gesture of inclusion, the invitation to join them, meant a lot to him.  
“Thanks,” Duo said. He looked over at Trowa. “I will,” he promised.  
Trowa smiled at him, sure he looked like an idiot, but Duo smiled back.  
He leaned over and kissed Heero.  
“Thank you,” he said again.  
Trowa kissed him as well, hoping Heero could understand his gratitude.  
He pulled back and Heero looked at him warmly. He understood.  
Trowa opened his own gift. It was a Kindle.  
He sighed and glared at Duo.  
Duo held up his hands in self-defense.  
“I said nothing. I swear.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“I’ve been saying he should get one for years, but he keeps telling me he doesn’t need it,” Duo explained.  
Heero smirked.  
“Well, now you have one.”  
“Thank you,” Trowa said. He did appreciate the gift - and he had wanted one for years now, he just hadn’t felt like getting one. It had seemed like a betrayal of his small collection of books. Still, this meant he could read in bed without having to keep on a separate light now - which Duo and Heero would certainly appreciate. It would also be easy to take on his many trips. “I did need it,” he added.  
He reached under the tree for his gift, knowing Duo would likely want to save his until last in any case - and if this gift went over badly maybe they would need whatever sexual gifts Duo had picked out to ease the tension.  
He put the small box between Duo and Heero.  
“It’s for both of you,” he said.  
Duo and Heero exchanged looks.  
Duo unwrapped the box and then handed it to Heero to open.  
The box itself was small and wooden, well worn around the edges and the varnish thin and faded.  
Heero opened it and picked up the set of keys inside.  
“Umm,” Duo said. “We’ve always wanted to share a key ring?”  
Trowa glared at him and waited for Heero to look at the fob on the key ring.  
“These are for the Peacemillion,” he said.  
Duo stared.  
“What - when - how?”  
Trowa smirked, thoroughly pleased with himself.  
He had approached Howard in early November, thinking that with Heero, Duo finally had someone who enjoyed sailing. Trowa didn’t mind tagging along, but he knew Duo had enjoyed sailing with Heero onboard the Peacemillion more than any day he had enjoyed sailing with Trowa. Heero, too, had seemed in love with the boat.  
Howard had been wanting to sell her for several years, had hinted at it to Trowa the first time Duo took her out, but Trowa hadn’t thought the time was right. He was more than a little impressed that he had managed to arrange the whole thing without Duo’s notice. He had accumulated a few bonuses, recently, and been able to put a down payment on the boat without going into their joint account for the money.  
“Thank you,” Heero said, his voice somber.  
Duo was drawn out of his shock by that and he leaned over and kissed Heero.  
“‘Ro, think of all the weekends we’re going to spend out at the Cape sailing her. We can take her out while Trowa goes golfing and then come home and take him to bed, still smelling and tasting like the ocean… or we can drag him along with us and spend all day and all night fucking him on our boat.”  
Heero swallowed hard.  
“Sounds good,” he allowed.  
“You won’t have to drag me along if you promise to fuck me,” Trowa muttered in mock anger.  
Duo grinned.  
“Oh I promise,” he assured Trowa and then crawled over and kissed him. “Thank you. This means a lot.”  
Duo sat back and winked.  
“And now it’s time for my gifts.”  
Trowa had to roll his eyes. They more or less were Duo’s gifts - to himself.  
He unwrapped his and groaned.  
It was a boy scout costume. The dress shirt looked very tight and the shorts very short, but it was unmistakably a boy scout costume.  
“Duo,” he started.  
“Hey - I told you, back when we first met, that I wanted to have sex with a boy scout. I’ve let you off the hook every single Halloween, but it’s time. I want to have a sexy boy scout give me a blow job.”  
Trowa sighed.   
“Fine.” He wouldn’t bring himself to say thank you, even though he was sure he would enjoy it.  
Heero looked at his own box with trepidation as he figured out how unlikely it was that Duo had gifted him with something as thoughtful or romantic as Duo had been given.  
Slowly, he opened the box and then he glared.  
“You have got to be joking,” he finally said.  
“Nope,” Duo assured him with a grin. “Look, it’s even got boots and wrist cuffs and -”  
Trowa leaned over to see just what the hell Duo had given Heero and he couldn’t stop his snort of laughter.  
It was a He Man costume.  
Heero transferred his glare from Duo to Trowa.  
“Come on,” Duo wheedled. “I know you’ve always wanted to wear a… fur loincloth and an… x-thing across your chest.”  
“Oddly, I haven’t always wanted to do that,” Heero muttered.  
“Well, it’s Christmas. The season of giving - and you would be very, very ungrateful if you didn’t at least try it on for me. Both of you.”  
Heero sighed and lifted it out of the box, revealing yet another element.  
“It has a wig,” he snarled.  
“Well yeah, your hair is a little short and dark to be He Man worthy.”  
Heero gave Trowa a long suffering look.  
Trowa nodded in sympathy.  
“It seems… unseasonal,” Heero decided, “for Trowa and I to have these costumes and you to have nothing.”  
Duo smirked.  
“Well, I’ve got those jammers you bought me,” he said, and the mental image of Duo in them had Trowa’s cock twitching in anticipation. “Or… I did pack the stockings and garter belt from Trowa’s birthday. Your choice.”

-o-

Alright Dear Readers,  
We are in the home stretch. Just have a few loose ends to tie up, like Treize and the future and you know, little things.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Thanks again for all of the reviews! I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused you!

Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Sixteen

“I’m thinking we should tie him up again.”  
Heero looked at him over the rim of his champagne glass.  
“He did seem to enjoy it,” Heero agreed.  
Duo smirked at him.  
“He’s always so damned bossy and likes to control things in bed - I never realized he’d like to have the tables turned on him.”  
Heero smirked.  
“I think there’s very little you could do to him in bed that he wouldn’t enjoy.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“I think you meant to say there’s very little we could do to him in bed that he wouldn’t enjoy.”  
Heero hesitated only a moment before nodding and Duo had to fight down his urge to lean over and kiss him.  
Things hadn’t resolved themselves overnight. The week in Paris had been good for all of them, and things had certainly improved - but there were still snags.   
Even so, making out with Heero in public wasn’t the way to fix those.  
Especially considering the fact that the were currently surrounded by one hundred MLG employees in a ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria. It was New Year’s Eve, but still two hours until midnight - so Duo couldn’t even use that as an excuse to kiss Heero. Not yet anyway.  
Heero saw the speculative look in Duo’s eyes.  
“What?” He asked.  
Duo shrugged.  
“Just wondering if I can kiss you at midnight.”  
Heero snorted and looked around the ballroom.  
“You can if you take me home first,” Heero told him. “But I don’t think our esteemed colleagues would know what to think if you kissed me here.”  
“You’re probably right,” Duo sighed and leaned back in his seat. He took another sip of champagne.   
“Probably?”  
Duo shrugged again.  
“Maybe everyone will be so drunk they won’t remember.”  
“Yes. Let’s take the chance that one hundred people will get so drunk they’ll forget seeing the two of us kiss.”  
Duo chuckled.  
“When you put it like that, it does seem impossible.” He leaned forward and made sure Heero’s attention was focused solely on him. “I mean, I’m never going to forget kissing you.”  
Heero held his gaze and Duo could see lust burning brightly in his blue eyes.  
“We promised Trowa we would stay until midnight,” Heero reminded Duo.  
“Where is he anyway?” Duo asked, looking around.   
Trowa had excused himself from their table twenty minutes ago to answer a phone call and they hadn’t seen him since.  
“Do you know who called him?” Heero asked.  
Duo shook his head.  
“No,” he shrugged and then smirked at Heero. “It’s fine. We can plan out our next foray into Trowa bondage while he’s gone.”  
Heero smirked back at him, but before they could make any plans, Vandy joined them.  
Duo fought back his long ingrained instinct to tense up at the arrival of the Junior Partner. Over the past few months he had grown accustomed to Vandy and had even grown to appreciate his friendship. Duo seriously doubted that his relationship with Trowa and Heero would have even had a chance if it hadn’t been for the handful of times Duo had gone out drinking with Vandy to vent about his frustrations. He didn’t often take Vandy’s advice, but it was good just to have someone listen.  
“How’s it going?” Vandy asked and sat down at their table.  
“Pretty good,” Duo answered. “How’s your night shaping up?”  
Vandy shrugged.  
“Another New Year’s Eve alone - I keep telling Lou we need to have these parties at a club or a restaurant or just somewhere where some of us can find someone to kiss at midnight.” Vandy scowled. “Not all of us have your problem of having too many people to kiss, you know.”  
Duo shrugged, not in the least bit apologetic.  
“My life is hard,” he sighed with mock resignation, “but someone has to live it.”  
Vandy rolled his eyes and turned to Heero.  
“I have no idea how you put up with this guy.”  
Heero looked on the verge of feigning ignorance, but then he shrugged.  
“I have help.”  
Vandy snorted a laugh.   
“Yeah you do. Where is Trowa anyway?”  
“No idea. He said he had a work call but I’m starting to think he bailed on us.”  
“No, he wouldn’t leave before the big announcement,” Vandy said.  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“What announcement?”  
“Um, I have no idea. Excuse me, I should go say hello to Bowen.” And with that, Vandy got up and walked away very quickly.  
Duo turned to Heero.  
“What the hell was that about?”  
Heero gave him a look.  
“Don’t tell me you haven’t heard the rumors about your promotion.”  
Duo sighed.  
“This same shit happens every year. Right around Thanksgiving Thomas starts dropping hints about promoting a new Senior partner and everyone loses their shit or start chaining themselves to their desks. I’ve only been a Junior Partner for two years - it’s not going to happen yet.” He arched an eyebrow at Heero. “Maybe he’s going to name you - he went to a hell of a lot of trouble getting you from Zodiac and you’ve more than paid off the investment.”  
Heero shook his head.  
“Promoting me over you makes no sense. It wouldn’t sit right with the associates or the junior partners - or even most of the senior partners. Trowa?”  
Duo shook his head.  
“I don’t think so. Treize kind of poisoned the well where’s he’s concerned. Thomas likes him, but Treize said something to him - I have no idea what - but Trowa’s convinced he’s not going to get a promotion anytime soon.”  
Heero frowned.  
“Then why does he stay? If he knows Treize is punishing him? He’s too good to stay a junior partner forever.”  
“Yeah, but again, we’ve only been junior partners for two years. We made a deal - if we aren’t both Senior Partners by the time we’re thirty-five then we’ll set up shop somewhere else. But that’s a few years down the road.” Duo hesitated. “What about you? Time limits? Life goals?”  
Heero shrugged one shoulder.  
“Ever since college my life goal has been to be better than Relena… but she’s already made Senior Partner and she defeated me in court.”  
“Yeah, but she never slept with me or with Trowa.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“She tried to sleep with you?”  
Duo nodded.  
“Before we were married, obviously. When we first started as associates we played things pretty close - our relationship, not our orientation. Anyway, Relena tried to get Trowa in bed and when that failed she tried me.” Duo smirked. “She still holds it against us that we turned her down - four years ago she got drunk enough at the New Year’s Eve party that she told us we could just a threesome, that she’d be okay with that.”  
Heero chuckled.  
“Don’t tell me you turned down that chance.”  
Duo shrugged.  
“What can I say. It wasn’t the kind of threesome we were waiting for.”  
Heero smiled at him.   
Duo’s attention was drawn towards the entrance of the ballroom, however, when he saw Trowa re-enter.  
They had all dressed in tuxedos - MLG company parties were notorious for being black tie events - and Trowa had always looked damn good in a tuxedo.   
Duo was looking forward, to later tonight, when he and Heero could take their time undressing Trowa. Maybe they would leave the bowtie on?  
His lecherous thoughts were immediately derailed when he saw Treize Khushrenada step into the ballroom with Trowa.  
The blonde man leaned forward to whisper something in Trowa’s ear. Trowa stiffened and glared, but Treize chuckled.  
“I didn’t know he was coming to this,” Heero said, following Duo’s gaze.  
“Neither did I,” Duo growled. He got up, ready to rescue Trowa from Treize, but Trowa spotted him and shook his head.  
Duo watched Trowa escort Treize to Darlian’s table, where the two men embraced and started to speak.  
Trowa tried to ease away, but Treize put an arm around his shoulders, anchoring him to the spot.  
Duo was a heartbeat away from crossing the room and ripping Treize’s arm off when he felt Heero’s hand on his.  
“You can’t kill him here. There are too many witnesses.”  
From anyone else it would have been a weak joke, but when Duo looked down at Heero he could see that he was deadly serious. He knew exactly what Duo wanted to do to Treize.  
“He shouldn’t even fucking be here,” Duo reluctantly allowed Heero to pull him back down into his seat. “The whole point of shipping him off to London was to get him the fuck away from us.”  
“He doesn’t usually come back for this party?” Heero asked.  
“No. He comes back for Darlian’s birthday parties and - “ Duo sighed. “And for major promotions.”  
“If his hand gets any closer to Trowa’s ass I don’t care how many witnesses are here,” Heero muttered and Duo had to agree.  
Treize had started out with his arm around Trowa’s shoulders, but by now it had drifted down to his waist, his large fingers spread wide.  
Duo swallowed hard.   
Just when Duo had decided enough was enough, Darlian called for everyone’s attention, tapping his fork against a champagne glass until all side conversations died down.  
Trowa took the chance to step away from Treize, putting a few feet between them and earning a smirk from the blonde man.  
“Good evening, everyone,” Darlian said, a broad smile on his face. “Tonight, we celebrate a new year! We have exciting challenges ahead of us - room to expand in our London branch, more of this country to conquer, more records to break, and more cases to win! But as we look to the future, let us take a moment to appreciate the past. When my father started this firm he had dreams of becoming one of the best firms in New York - but now are looking beyond that, thanks to my dear friend Treize. We are poised to be one of the best law firms on two continents, and all of you have worked so very hard to bring us to this point. You have made this the most successful year in MLG history - we have had record billings and, because of that - because of your work - I believe you will all have cause to celebrate with a little bonus with your next paycheck.” There were appreciative cheers from most of the employees. MLG paid well, but everyone appreciated a bonus. “With our success comes the need for more success. We cannot stop now - we must continue to stride forward. And that is why, after long consideration, I am announcing a new managing partner.”  
Duo and Heero exchanged glances. Heero looked just as shocked as Duo did.  
Darlian gestured towards Treize.  
“My long time friend will assume the position of managing partner. Under Treize, MLG will continue to flourish and continue to grow. I will, of course, retain a controlling interest in our board - but I have complete faith in Treize and the direction he wants to take MLG.”  
There was a stunned moment before scattered applause broke out.  
Duo mechanically joined in the clapping and he noticed Heero do the same.  
Trowa, still standing beside Treize, made no move to clap.  
Treize held up his hands for silence.  
“Thank you - thank you all. As with any changing of the guard, there will be an adjustment period, but, as Thomas has said - we must push forward. We cannot stop now, and together, we will make MLG into something glorious. And, to help me do that, we have decided to name two new Senior Partners.”  
Treize smiled and gestured towards the table where Duo and Heero sat.  
“They have already proven their worth as a team, and independently. Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy, our newest Senior Partners.”  
Duo and Heero stood up and accepted the applause from their coworkers.  
“We have to go over there, don’t we?” Duo asked Heero through gritted teeth.  
“We can save Trowa after we shake that bastards hand,” Heero responded in a similar fashion.  
They walked across the ballroom together.  
Darlian hugged them both and slapped their backs. Duo resisted the urge to ask him if he had lost his fucking mind and instead accepted his praise and steeled himself to shake Treize’s hand.  
Treize smirked at him and pulled him into a one handed hug.  
“London was nice, but it doesn’t offer the same views as New York. It will be so nice to return to where I belong.” He whispered the words into Duo’s ear.  
“If you come near Heero or my husband I will ruin your career,” Duo promised and pulled away to smile at him.  
Treize chuckled.  
“That sounds like a challenge,” he said before releasing Duo’s hand. “And you know how much I love a good challenge.”  
Treize turned his attention towards Heero, drawing him close in a similar hug and no doubt whispering veiled threats in his ear.  
But Heero, unlike Duo, merely pulled away and glared at Treize, not bothering to engage him.  
Duo turned to Trowa and raised an eyebrow.  
“We have to stay for at least another hour or it will look strange,” Trowa said to him, leaning close so they weren’t overheard.  
“But we sure as hell don’t have to spend it with this bastard,” Duo responded.  
Trowa nodded in agreement and gestured towards their table.  
As they walked back to it, Duo and Heero were stopped by several people wanting to congratulate them.   
It was hard to accept their praise when all Duo wanted to do was quit on the spot. The thought of having to work for Treize again - the knowledge that he controlled the day to day operations of MLG - the way he looked at Trowa and Heero as though they were toys he could play with at will - all of it made Duo sick.  
Trowa wrapped his hand around Duo’s, sensing his turmoil.  
“Do you mind if we dance?” Trowa asked Heero once they made it back to their table.  
Heero looked startled by the question.  
“No,” he assured them.  
“But you and I have the next dance,” Duo told him. “We can plot Treize’s murder while we waltz.”  
Heero snorted a dark laugh.  
“Sounds good.”  
Trowa led them to the dance floor and wrapped his arms around Duo.  
“I’m sorry,” Trowa said.  
Duo gave him a look.  
“What the hell are you possibly apologizing for?”  
Trowa sighed.  
“I knew. About Treize.”  
“For how long?”  
“A few days.” Trowa sighed and looked away from Duo. “He called me to gloat.”  
“Why didn’t you say anything?”  
Trowa shrugged one shoulder.  
“What would I have said?”  
“‘Duo. Treize is coming back. I thought you should know.’”  
Trowa laughed, but the sound was without humor.  
“And what good would that have done? You would have spent the last week spoiling for a fight and we’d be in the same position we are now - there’s nothing we can do but shake the bastard’s hand and hope to hell he doesn’t think of a way to blackmail Heero.”  
“What about you?”  
“What about me?”  
“He’s the call you received earlier.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“You went to meet him.”  
“He wanted me to congratulate him in private.”  
Duo tightened his grip on Trowa’s waist.  
“Trowa -”  
“I didn’t touch him,” Trowa said.  
“But he touched you,” Duo guessed.  
Trowa finally looked at him again and his green eyes were dark.  
“He kissed me. He grabbed me through my clothes. That was it.”  
Duo pulled him close and held him tightly.  
“I don’t know what to do,” Trowa confessed. “It was foolish to think this was behind me.”  
“No,” Duo insisted. “It wasn’t foolish. We are going to put this behind us. For good this time.”  
Trowa pulled away enough to look at Duo.  
“How? Are we going to quit? We’ve got a non-compete clause that will keep us from practicing law in New York, Chicago, LA, Paris, Miami, London and every other decent sized city in this country. Hell, we can’t even practice law in Canada.”  
“I don’t know,” Duo admitted. “I don’t fucking know but we will do something.”  
“Congratulations on your promotion,” Trowa said with a sigh.  
Duo laughed bitterly.  
“I’ve never wanted to be a Senior Partner less than I do now that I am one.”  
They danced in silence after that, finishing the song and then drifting off the dance floor and back to their table.  
Heero had been joined by Vandy, the two deep in conversation about hockey, but Heero looked up when they approached and arched an eyebrow at Duo.  
“Shall we?” Duo asked and held out his hand.  
Heero accepted it with a smirk.  
Vandy arched an eyebrow.  
“Really?”  
Duo shrugged.  
“Why not? Can’t two gay men dance with each other. Straight people do it all of the time.”  
“Yeah, but… you two are… you know?”  
“Celebrating our new status as Senior Partners?” Duo supplied.  
Vandy rolled his eyes.  
“Sure. Whatever.”  
But Vandy had a point.  
Duo turned to Heero.  
“You sure you want to do this?”  
“Do you?”  
“Absolutely.”  
Heero smirked.  
“Then so do I.”  
They had a moment of hesitation when they made it to the dance floor and they both started to lead, but Duo chuckled and allowed Heero to lead them.  
Duo wanted to enjoy it, wanted to focus on the feel of Heero’s firm body and the smell of his aftershave and the warmth of his hand on the small of Duo’s back, but he couldn’t.  
“What did he say to you?” Duo had to know.  
Heero sighed and shook his head.  
“He said he wanted to mentor me - nothing specific. Just… just enough to hint that he knew enough to ruin my life.”  
Duo swallowed hard.  
“He did something to Trowa before - he was the one that called him.”  
Heero looked back at their table, at Trowa speaking with Vandy, and there was something dark and feral in his gaze.  
“I want to destroy him,” Heero said.  
“Me fucking too. We just need to figure out how.”  
Heero nodded in agreement.  
Duo noticed that they had garnered a fair amount of attention.   
He sighed.  
“Fucking hell. I’ll have to dance with Vandy now,” he realized.  
Heero gave him his hand a sympathetic squeeze.  
“I’ll make it up to you at home.”  
Duo liked that Heero didn’t say your home or your apartment, just home.  
“I’m going to hold you to that. But I think we should focus on Trowa tonight.”  
Heero nodded in agreement.   
When the song ended Duo reluctantly returned Heero to the table and asked Vandy to dance.  
Vandy accepted enthusiastically, which made both Heero and Trowa smirk.  
It was almost worth it, to see their amusement after the evening’s events. Almost.

-o-  
It was only eleven-thirty when they got home, but the extra hour they had stayed at the party had felt like an eternity.  
Making small talk with people while all Duo wanted to do was take Heero and Trowa and run the hell away from Treize was one of the more painful things he had endured in recent memory - and considering the events of the last four months, that was certainly saying something.  
As soon as they walked into the house, Trowa started to undress, taking off his jacket and then pulling at his bowtie.  
“Wait,” Duo stopped him.  
Trowa let go of the bowtie.  
“Not tonight,” he said, his voice soft and tired and it hurt enough that Duo almost abandoned his plan.  
One look at the scowl on Heero’s face, however, convinced him it was worth going through with.  
“Where did he touch you?” Duo asked.  
Trowa looked between them.  
“Duo -”  
“Trowa. Please.”  
Trowa sighed and closed his eyes.  
“He kissed me.”  
Duo stared at Trowa’s lips. It filled him with anger to think that Treize’s mouth had been there.  
He leaned forward and kissed Trowa, using his tongue to caress Trowa’s lips and gently tease them apart. He slid his tongue against Trowa’s and Trowa groaned and pulled him close.  
“Did he kiss you like that?” Duo asked when they broke apart.  
Trowa shook his head.  
Duo looked to Heero, who stepped close and took his turn, kissing Trowa hungrily until Trowa was rocking forward to press against Heero’s body.  
“Did he kiss you like that?” Duo asked again.  
“No,” Trowa answered, nearly breathless.  
“What else did he do?” Heero asked.  
Trowa swallowed hard.  
“He groped me. My ass. My dick. It was -”  
“Like this?” Duo interrupted him, running his hands down to Trowa’s hips and teasing them over his groin. He kept his touch light, but he made sure to rub against Trowa’s cock.  
“No,” Trowa said.  
“Like this?” Heero ran his hands over Trowa’s ass, pulling him close.  
“No,” Trowa groaned and Duo could feel his cock start to grow hard.  
“Do you want us to stop?” Duo asked Trowa.  
Trowa shook his head.  
“No.”  
Together, Heero and Duo worked to undress Trowa. Despite his earlier decision to have Trowa wear the bowtie and nothing else, they removed that as well. Some other time, Duo told himself, when they didn’t have as much on their minds.  
When they had Trowa completely naked they started to kiss and caress him, Duo his front, Heero his back, working their way from his head down his chest and back, to his hips and his groin.  
Duo had Trowa spread his legs and he knelt between them, Heero mirroring him.  
He took his time sucking Trowa’s cock, kissing and licking his balls and then the head of his cock before finally turning his attention to the shaft. He wrapped his lips around Trowa’s cock and bobbed his head along the length in long, deep strokes that had Trowa gripping his hair tightly.  
Whatever Heero was doing to Trowa’s ass seemed to be pleasing him as well - Trowa alternating rocking back into Heero and forward into Duo’s mouth until he came with a gasp and a whispered “Thank you.”  
Duo pulled Trowa down to the floor with them and held him. Heero joined in the loose hug, propping his head on Trowa’s shoulder.  
“You know,” Duo said, “one of these days we’re going to have sex because we want to and not because we’re trying not to think of all the shit in our lives.”


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Thanks again for all of the reviews! It means so much to me that I can share this with you folks!

Warnings: Angst, language, sex… kind of a lot of sex this chapter… sorry, I guess?  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Seventeen

“Well, what do you normally swim?”  
Heero was glad that Trowa answered the question, because it was hard to think about anything when presented with the sight of Duo wearing his red and black jammers.  
He had long ago lost count of the number of times he had seen Duo half-naked or naked, but something about seeing him standing on the edge of the pool, his hair shoved into a swim cap, goggles loose around his neck, and those damned red and black jammers riding low on his hips…  
Heero didn’t think he had ever seen Duo look sexier.  
“We normally do a 6000 yard freestyle ladder.”  
“Okay… what does that mean exactly?”  
Trowa hesitated for a moment.  
“We should probably try something else anyway. It’s a lot for –“  
“Whoa. Hang on.” Duo held up his hands and a frown tugged the corners of his mouth downwards. “You were not just about to say that I can’t handle your swim routine.”  
Trowa sighed and looked over towards Heero for backup.  
“You really don’t think I can handle it,” Duo said before Heero could think of anything. “You both think I’m that out of shape.”  
“You’re a runner, Duo,” Trowa tried again. “You’re not out of shape – hell, I don’t think either of us could ever hope to keep up with you in a marathon! But you don’t do much weight training and –“  
“No. We’re doing your damned swim routine. I’m not going to show up here and force you guys to change your thing just because of me.”  
So that was really the problem, Heero and Trowa realized at the same time. It wasn’t that Duo was insulted by the idea that he wasn’t in the same shape as them – he didn’t want to feel like he was forcing them to change.  
“You changed your routine for us,” Heero pointed out, “you came here today instead of running.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow at him and crossed his arms over his chest.  
“Look, you didn’t buy me these things so I could stand on the side of the pool and cheer you two on. So just walk me through the routine and let’s do it already.”  
Trowa heaved a long suffering sigh, which earned him another glare from Duo, but proceeded to explain how their ladder worked.  
Duo nodded along in agreement and then stepped up to the lane on Heero’s other side, putting Heero in the middle.  
As they dove in together, Heero watched Duo’s form out of the corner of his eye. It was clear he had had enough experience swimming at some point to have excellent form – Heero wondered if it had been associated with his past competitive sailing? – but he soon focused on his own lane and his own form.  
By the end of the ladder, Duo had fallen behind Heero and Trowa’s pace, so that both men were already finished and waiting on the opposite end of the pool when Duo started his last turn, but Heero was impressed that Duo had been able to stick with them.  
“Stubborn asshole,” Trowa muttered as they watched Duo swim towards them. “He’d swim the whole ladder with a pulled muscle just to prove his point.”  
Heero felt his lips twitch.  
“As if you’re any different.”  
Trowa’s lips formed around a denial but then he shrugged.  
“You’re right – and you aren’t any different either.”  
Heero shrugged.  
“Never said I was.”  
They shared a grin and then Duo surfaced on Heero’s other side.  
He was breathing heavily, but he hauled himself out of the water and offered them both a triumphant smirk.  
Heero shook his head and pulled himself out as Trowa did the same.  
“When you wake up in the morning and can’t move because you’ve pulled something in your back, don’t whine about it to me,” Trowa said to him as they settled into the hot tub.  
Duo rolled his eyes.  
“Thanks for that support, Tro. I always knew you took our marriage vows seriously.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“I seemed to have missed the part where I agreed to overlook all of your idiotic life choices.”  
Duo opened his mouth to argue, but Heero, after looking around to ensure they were alone, kissed him.  
Duo was startled for a moment, but then he leaned into Heero and kissed him back, tangling their tongues together and then pulling away with a gentle nip to Heero’s lower lip.  
“At least Heero appreciates me,” Duo grumbled.  
“We both appreciate you,” Heero assured him, “but both of us are going to say I told you so tomorrow morning when you tell us this was a mistake.”  
Duo gave him a wounded look and Trowa chuckled.  
“Come on, we need to shower and get out of here or we’ll be late to work.”  
“A shower, you say?” Duo winked. “Now I get why you two are always smirking when you get in to work. How much shower sex do you two have?”  
“None,” Trowa managed to say with a straight face.  
Heero sighed and nodded, forcing himself to look depressed.  
“The showers just aren’t big enough for –“  
Duo opened an unlocked shower stall door and looked inside.  
“Aren’t big enough for what? An orgy?” Duo gestured. “Because they’re sure as hell big enough for three people.”  
Trowa looked at Heero.  
“I guess the whining is going to start now,” he said.  
Heero nodded.  
“Oh, fuck you both,” Duo growled and started to leave the shower, but Trowa stopped him and walked him deeper into the stall while Heero closed it behind them.  
“Fuck you both?” Trowa purred against Duo’s neck. “Now that doesn’t sound too bad. What do you think, Heero? Do we want Duo to fuck us both?”  
“Sounds good to me,” Heero said.  
He ran his hands over Duo’s chest and down to the waistband of the jammers.  
“But it might put too much of a strain on his back,” Heero added.  
Trowa chuckled.  
“I hate you both,” Duo muttered, but he pulled Heero close and kissed him again.  
Trowa turned on the water, momentarily startling Duo before the temperature adjusted, and then joined them under the spray. Trowa ran his hands over Heero’s torso and kissed and bit across his back and shoulders.  
Duo, meanwhile, started to peel Heero’s jammers off.  
Heero stepped out of them and then groaned into Duo’s mouth when the other man’s hands closed around his cock and started to stroke him.  
“What do you do about lube?” Duo asked, breaking free of their kiss.  
“We started bringing our own,” Heero told him and gestured to the shower caddy Trowa had put down in the corner. In addition to soap, shampoo and conditioner, they had started to bring water based lube as well once they returned from Paris.  
“Swiss Navy?” Duo asked with a grin as he picked up the small clear bottle.  
“Don’t ask me. Trowa picked it out,” Heero told him.  
“And I haven’t heard anyone complaining about it before now,” Trowa added while he squeezed Heero’s ass. “Who are we to judge the Swiss Navy, after all. I think we should simply appreciate this legacy they have –“  
His words were lost in Heero’s mouth and Trowa smirked as he kissed Heero back.  
Duo turned him, so that Heero and Trowa’s fronts were pressed together, and Heero felt the slick nudge of Duo’s lubed fingers at his entrance.  
Heero pulled Trowa’s jammers off and Trowa thrust against him, their naked erections straining against each other.  
Heero groaned into his mouth and then moaned when Duo slipped one finger inside of him.  
“I’ve got no idea how you two manage to come into work walking straight if you fuck each other every morning,” he muttered, his voice warm against the back of Heero’s neck.  
“We don’t fuck every morning,” Trowa pointed out with a smirk.  
“Mostly just blow jobs and hand jobs,” Heero added and then moaned again when Duo’s finger nudged against his prostate.  
“Well, I’m happy to have you change this part of your morning routine for me,” Duo remarked as he added a second finger.  
“Our pleasure,” Trowa assured him. He reached down to stroke Heero’s cock and Heero returned the favor.  
By the time Duo finally entered him, Heero could already feel his orgasm building. There was something incredibly erotic about having sex in a public place with Duo and Trowa, and he focused solely on the sensations of Duo and Trowa’s bodies, the sounds of their ragged breathing and the hammering of their hearts.  
It was easy to do, and so much better than thinking about what – and who – awaited them at the MLG offices.

-o-

As they got out of the elevator for their floor at MLG, Duo sighed and adopted a forced smile.  
It was the same expression Heero had seen on him every day since Treize’s promotion and return two weeks ago, and he hated it.  
Judging by the way Trowa’s eyes narrowed, he didn’t care for it too much either.  
“How much sick leave do we have stored up?” Duo asked out of the corner of his mouth as they walked towards their offices. “I’m thinking a month in Tahiti is in order.”  
Trowa snorted.  
“I’m thinking a year sounds more appropriate.”  
While one part of Heero was grateful that he had two partners who hated their circumstance just as much as he did, a larger part of him was furious about the fact that all three of them were miserable. He had hated Treize before, but now…  
They reached Duo and Trowa’s offices.  
“What is that stack on my desk?” Duo asked Allison.  
Heero looked through Duo’s open office door and saw a stack of at least twelve brown folders.  
Allison got up from her desk and stood in front of him.  
“Duo, let me take your things. I think Alex was looking for you earlier. Why not go and chat with him before we -”  
“Are those divorce cases?”  
Duo walked past Allison, who closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.  
“Are you kidding me?”   
Duo started to flip through the files.  
“You should probably go,” Allison advised them.   
Trowa frowned and looked ready to walk past Allison and join Duo when his own secretary, Sarah, cleared her throat.  
Trowa regarded her warily.  
“You have a few rather urgent matters to deal with.”  
Trowa’s frown turned into a scowl.  
“Urgent matters?”  
“Contract negotiations with several baseball players.”  
“We settled all of those in December.”  
“These are new clients. Treize had them assigned to you this morning.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Right.” He looked over at Heero. “Good luck with whatever he’s arranged for you.”  
Trowa stepped into his office, Sarah at his heels, and Heero was left alone.   
He drew in a deep breath and made the rest of the walk to his own office.  
Gina looked up at him, a worried expression and Heero had to stomp down the urge to turn and walk out of the building.  
“What?” He demanded.  
“Treize is waiting for you inside. I’m sorry. He -”  
Heero held up a hand to forestall her excuse.  
“It’s fine.”  
He stepped into his office and thought about ignoring the blonde man seated in his chair behind his desk. He just didn’t see how he could.  
“Ah. Heero. You’ve finally arrived.”  
“Yes. Ten minutes early. Had I realized we had a meeting scheduled I would have come in even earlier.”  
Treize’s lips compressed in a thin smile.  
“You are so very diligent,” Treize complimented him. “But I’ve noticed that Human Resources has not been quite as diligent.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow.  
“What are you talking about?”  
Treize tapped a folder on Heero’s desk.  
“Your personnel file. It seems that you have not once been given a drug test since accepting employment with MLG.”  
Heero clenched his jaw and forced himself to set down his brief case and gym bag. It only made sense that Treize would go for this angle of attack. It was, as far as Treize knew, his only weak point. Well, that and prostitution…  
“The tests are random,” Heero reminded him.  
“Indeed. And it just so happens that… randomly… you will be tested today. Right now.”  
Heero wanted to argue with him on principle, but he suspected Treize wanted the same thing. So he shrugged.  
“Fine. Is there a clinic you want me to go to?”  
Treize snorted.  
“A clinic? No, of course not. Come with me to HR. We can do this entire process on site.”  
It was humiliating. Walking down the hall with Treize, past Duo and Trowa’s offices, riding the elevator down to HR and accepting the damn pee cup from the pimply kid who almost dropped it. Treize standing outside of the bathroom while he pissed into the cup and Heero had to fight down the urge to shove it into Treize’s hands and instead left it on the counter.  
“Let’s have a chat in my office,” Treize suggested as they rode the elevator back up.  
Heero followed him wordlessly, obediently, he supposed, except there wasn’t much obedience in hoping Treize fell off a subway platform.  
He sat on the plush leather couch across from Treize and glared.  
Treize’s lips tipped upwards in a self-satisfied smirk.  
“We take professionalism very seriously at MLG. There will be regular drug testing and any violations will result in immediate termination of employment.”  
Heero wondered where Treize was going with this threat - wondered how he was going to use it to try to blackmail him or coerce him.  
He remained silent.  
“Even the hint of impropriety or abuse would be damaging to the atmosphere we are creating at MLG. I will not hesitate to fully prosecute anyone who tries to smear that name. My name.”  
Treize regarded Heero steadily and it suddenly hit him.  
Treize was afraid of Heero blackmailing him.   
Treize was warning Heero not to mention Amsterdam, not to threaten him with details of their mutual past. Treize didn’t want to manipulate Heero - he wanted him gone because he threatened his plans for the future.  
Heero felt like laughing.   
He had spent all of this time terrified of Treize - terrified of what he would force him to do - and all of this time, Treize had merely been plotting to get rid of him.  
“I understand,” he pulled himself together enough to say.  
Treize gave him a sharp look.  
“I will see MLG become the best law firm in this city, and I will not allow corrupt influences to drag it, or any of my employees, down.”  
Heero arched an eyebrow at that more explicit threat. Did Treize know about his relationship with Trowa and Duo? It didn’t seem possible, but maybe…  
“I’m sure Thomas had his reasons for allowing you and Duo Maxwell to work together on those ridiculous human rights cases, but this firm is designing to make money for our partners. You will not work with Duo again. He will focus on divorce litigation - and you will focus on corporate takeovers. Am I being clear?”  
“Yes.”  
“Good. Then prove to me that Thomas didn’t make a fool of himself by hiring you.”  
As Heero left the office he had another realization. Treize was a scumbag of a human who had used his position of authority to abuse Trowa - but he wasn’t an evil mastermind intent on ruining all of their lives. He truly just wanted to make MLG the top law firm and make himself buckets of money. He didn’t want to torture Heero, he just wanted to get rid of him. He was forcing Duo to focus on divorce cases because that’s what made money - he had no doubt foisted off a huge list of athletes onto Trowa because that too made money. He was an asshole, and he deserved to be disbarred and put in prison for what he had done to Trowa, but he wasn’t scheming to destroy all three of them.  
Heero found himself smirking as he walked past Duo and Trowa’s offices. He stopped, intent on sharing this discovery, but Duo’s office was empty.  
“How are things going?” He asked Trowa, leaning against the open doorway, unable to keep his smirk in check.  
Trowa didn’t bother looking up from his work.  
“Just perfect. Duo’s off at Starbucks nursing his homicidal rage with a latte and I’m stuck here trying to figure out just how many plane tickets I need to book for this month.”  
“What?”  
Trowa looked up at him.  
“Spring training starts soon and Treize generously gifted me with twelve A-list players who want their contracts re-negotiated. And they are all at home, enjoying time with their families. So for the next six weeks I’m going to be flying all over the country trying to work these things out.”  
So Treize was trying to disrupt Duo and Trowa’s lives - not just make money, but force them to spend unnecessary time apart. He didn’t, couldn’t know, that it also affected Heero.  
“Show me how to use the copy machine.”  
Trowa frowned at the sudden change in subject.  
“Gina can do it for you.”  
“No. I want you to show me.”  
Duo had mentioned once that the copy room was the safest place for office sex - had regaled Heero with anecdotes of he and Trowa fucking on almost every surface in the windowless room.  
Trowa sighed and rose from behind his desk and walked with Heero to the copy room.  
“It’s easy. All you -”  
Heero turned on him, backing Trowa up against the closed door and locking it.  
“I know how to use the copy machine, Trowa.”  
Trowa’s eyes narrowed.  
“Duo’s been telling you about those times we fucked in here, hasn’t he?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“He seems to enjoy talking dirty to me when we shower together.”  
“I can imagine.”  
Trowa ran one hand down the side of Heero’s face.  
“You two will have plenty of time to shower together while I’m gone.”  
Heero caught his hand and kissed it.  
“We will,” he agreed. “And plenty of time to fuck on the couch, the bed, the dining room table… anywhere you want to watch us.”  
Trowa arched an eyebrow.  
“You’re going to skype me while you fuck my husband?” Not too long ago the question would have made Heero hesitate, would have reminded him that he was an outsider in this. But now, the emphasis Trowa put on the word made it very dirty and made Heero very hard.  
“Hn,” Heero agreed. He leaned forward and kissed Trowa, running his tongue over his lips and then teasing the space between until Trowa opened for him.   
“You can watch, and you can tell us exactly what you want to see,” Heero told him, moving his mouth across Trowa’s jaw and to his ear. He nipped at the sensitive lobe and Trowa shuddered. “What do you want to see, Trowa? Do you want to see me make Duo beg to be fucked? Do you want to see him suck my cock and finger me while I look at you? Do you -”  
Trowa kissed him again, groaning into his mouth and turning them so that it was Heero pinned against the door.  
The kiss was fierce - Trowa poured his frustration and his lust into it and Heero responded in kind. He could stand here and talk dirty to Trowa, could tease him with voyeuristic pornography, but it didn’t change the fact that Treize was trying to break them.  
Trowa’s hands worked to unfasten Heero’s belt and the fly of his trousers. He reached inside and palmed Heero’s erection.  
Heero bit at his lips and Trowa smirked and pulled away.  
“Keep telling me what I want to see,” he whispered against Heero’s mouth. “Tell me what I want you to do to Duo. What I want him to do to you.”  
Trowa knelt down in front of Heero and tugged his boxers and his trousers down so that he could have free access to Heero’s cock.  
He licked the head and Heero gasped.  
“I’m waiting,” Trowa said. He smirked and looked up at Heero.  
“What?” Heero was having a hard time - “oh.” He remembered. “Do you want me to tie him up? Tie his arms together on the bed and take my time - oh, God, Trowa,” Heero clutched his hair as Trowa deepthroated him. Heero drew in a deep breath. “I’ll make him beg - make him beg you to let me get him off. We’ll tease him, Trowa, your voice and my mouth and by the time we let him come he’s going to explode. He’s - Trowa, oh, Trowa -”   
Heero slumped against the door as Trowa continued to suck on him, easing back after his orgasm.  
Trowa sat back on his heels and looked very content with himself.  
“That was not my initial plan when I brought you in here,” Heero had to remark.  
Trowa snorted and got to his feet while Heero pulled up his boxers and his trousers.  
“Things rarely go as planned around here anymore,” he muttered.  
Heero swallowed.  
“Trowa -”  
“No. Sorry.” Trowa leaned in and kissed him. “Thank you for this.” He sighed. “We should probably get out of here before someone actually needs to make copies.”

-o-  
It was just after lunch when Heero hit upon a solution.  
They didn’t eat lunch together often - usually they were each buried in work and had a salad or sandwich at their desks - but ever since Treize’s return Duo had insisted they take the time to leave the office and eat lunch together.   
So, after an hour of watching Duo glumly poke at his salad - Trowa had told him about his upcoming travel - Heero decided something needed to be done.   
Whether or not Treize’s main intention was to ruin their lives, he was steadily succeeding. After Duo’s third joke about quitting and living full time on Peacemillion, it was clear that both he and Trowa were just as hopeless as he felt.  
So, with trepidation, Heero picked up his phone and called the one person he desperately did not want to speak to.  
“Heero?”  
“Relena.”  
“Did you… mean to call me?”  
He almost laughed.   
“Yes. I did.”  
“Oh. Well, did you have something you needed to gloat about?” She was clearly grasping for any logical reason for this call.  
“No. I actually,” Heero tried to think of how to phrase this. He needed Relena’s help for this to work. He sighed and just gave in.  
“I need your help.”  
-o-  
Heero set down his briefcase beside Trowa and Duo’s and breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to be home after that day from hell.  
Trowa and Duo looked just as relieved - their postures relaxing as soon as they stepped into their apartment.   
But both men still seemed angry, residual tension from their day clinging to them.  
The skin around Duo’s eyes was tight, and it was clear from the way that he set down his briefcase that he was hurting.  
Heero and Trowa exchanged a look.  
“I’m going to start dinner,” Trowa said. “Roast chicken still okay with everyone?”  
Duo nodded and started to sit down on the couch, but Heero caught his wrist.  
Duo gave him a questioning look.  
“Why don’t I give you a back massage?” Heero suggested.  
Duo looked on the verge of saying no.  
“Please,” Heero added.  
Duo sighed and followed him into the bedroom.  
“Thanks,” he said as he started to take off his suit.  
“I’m happy to do it,” Heero assured him. He went into the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of massage oil he had noticed under the sink a few weeks ago and brought it back into the bedroom.  
Duo was already face down on the bed, naked except for his boxer briefs.  
“Go ahead and take these off too,” Heero told him and tugged at the waistband.  
“You just want to get me naked,” Duo muttered into the comforter but he complied with Heero’s request.  
“Of course I just want to get you naked,” Heero told him. “But I can also get your lower back better without those on.”  
He took off his own suit jacket and tie before rolling up his sleeves and kneeling on the bed beside Duo. He warmed up the oil on his own hands before starting to knead the flesh of Duo’s back, starting at his shoulders.  
Duo groaned in a mix of pain and pleasure.  
“You know that Trowa and I wouldn’t mind changing our routine for you,” Heero had to say again when Duo hissed in pain.  
“Yeah, well, I’d mind.”  
Heero sighed.  
“We want you there. And we don’t want you to get hurt. This has nothing to do with what kind of shape you’re in,” he quickly added and used force to keep Duo from rolling over to argue with him. “But you wouldn’t let Trowa or I run twenty-six kilometers with you tomorrow, would you?”  
“Hell, I’m not going to be running twenty-six kilometers tomorrow when I feel like this,” Duo muttered but then he sighed. “I get your point. I just – I don’t want to make you two change anything.”  
“We want to,” Heero said again. “Having you there with us is worth changing our routine for a few months until you’re ready to do this every other day.”  
Duo sighed.  
“Maybe,” he allowed, and Heero knew it was as close to an agreement as Duo would give him for now.  
He spent the next half hour thoroughly massaging Duo’s back, working his way down and back up until Duo’s skin was warm and his muscles no longer tense.  
At some point, Trowa came into the room and leaned against the door frame to watch, a soft smirk on his face.  
Heero caught his eye eventually and raised an eyebrow.  
Trowa’s smirk became a little lecherous and as he stepped into the room he started to undress.  
Heero was able to keep his hands busy on Duo’s back, but his attention was definitely split as he watched Trowa strip down until he was naked.  
Trowa approached the bed and spread some of the massage oil on his fingers before reaching out to squeeze Duo’s ass.  
Duo chuckled.  
“My ass isn’t sore, Tro,” he said.  
“Good,” was Trowa’s response as he pushed Duo’s legs apart and fingered his rim.  
Heero watched Duo shift, pushing his ass up into the air, eager for penetration and Trowa laughed softly.  
He looked over at Heero and then knelt on the bed, bringing his cock close to Heero’s mouth and he leaned over to lick it.  
Trowa’s breath caught when Heero sucked on the head, swirling his tongue around to taste him. Trowa gave a few shallow thrusts, gently fucking Heero’s mouth, before he pulled out and then leaned down to kiss Heero.  
“You aren’t nearly naked enough,” Trowa said against his lips.  
“I didn’t realize there was a dress code,” Heero responded, but he rose from the bed and started to strip, both Trowa and Duo watching him.  
“Tro told me about your little copy room rendezvous,” Duo said. He got up on his hands and knees, spreading his legs wide so that Trowa could kneel behind him. “And I’ve been jealous of him all day. Mind if I take a turn sucking your cock?”  
“No,” Heero assured him, feeling himself grow harder at Duo’s words. He walked over to the foot of the bed and Duo shifted forward so that he could swallow him.  
Trowa, meanwhile, started to slide into Duo.  
Heero could feel Duo moan around his cock, and it sent delicious vibrations around his cock.  
Heero tangled his hands in Duo’s hair, tugging some of it free from his braid, and he watched as Trowa fully penetrated Duo and sighed in contentment. They looked at each other over Duo’s body and Trowa smirked at him again, one corner of his mouth tilting upwards in a way that made Heero’s heart beat faster.  
It would be worth it, he decided. Whatever Heero and Relena could figure out would be worth it – worth the chance for Heero to be together with Duo and Trowa, far from Treize’s reach.


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Thanks again for all of the reviews! It means so much to me that I can share this with you folks!

Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Eighteen

He tried to remember the last time he had been this tired.  
Maybe it had been their honeymoon, that flight back from Hawaii, because for the entire week they were there Trowa couldn’t think of a single night they got more than five hours of sleep because Duo was making very good on his threat to spend the entire honeymoon screwing like rabbits.   
But he’d slept on the plane from Honolulu to LAX - hell, they both had - and then again on the flight from LAX to LaGuardia and even Duo had slept then.   
Maybe it was studying for the New York Bar exam, when he’d had less than three hours of sleep for two nights in a row in a futile attempt to study. Futile, because Duo’s idea of helping him study, of preparing them both for an examination that would determine their entire future careers, had been sex. A lot of sex. It was a good thing they were both brilliant, a good thing they knew what they were doing because Trowa caught himself falling asleep twice during the Bar and if he had failed it, if Duo had failed it, he doubted he could have ever forgiven him.  
But this was a different kind of tired. Maybe because he was older, because thirty was oh so close these days, but when Trowa stepped outside to hail a cab at JFK he felt exhausted.  
He hadn’t been able to sleep on the flight, a first for him, but considering the fact that it was a short flight, Chicago to New York, the lost sleep really shouldn’t matter that much. What mattered was the fact that he had spent forty-eight hours on a plane this past week and he hadn’t spent a single night in his own bed, in his own home, with his husband and his lover, in two and a half weeks.  
These damned contract negotiations Treize had assigned to Trowa were like a wild-goose chase. The players and the teams refused to come to terms, and if Trowa didn’t know better, if Trowa didn’t know that Treize liked to win and liked money more than anything else, he would have suspected that Treize wanted him to fail.  
But Trowa hadn’t failed, he’d finally, after flying back and forth between Chicago and Little Rock, Arkansas three times this week, convinced the Cubs ace pitcher to go back to them, to settle for a little less money and a longer contract and everyone was happy. The previous weeks had been filled with similar negotiations, and Trowa was basically on an extended layover, three days in New York before he had to fly back out, this time to Miami, to deal with one of his own long standing clients, and Trowa really felt he was at the end of his rope, his patience exhausted and his ability to care long since gone.  
A cab finally stopped, and Trowa got into the back, out of the icy rain falling on him and the stale smell of the cab made his stomach turn.  
He hadn’t been sleeping much, or very well, and he hadn’t been eating much, or very well either.   
“Where to?” The driver asked.  
“The Four Seasons,” Trowa said and he settled back in the seat, closed his eyes and tried not to breathe too deeply.  
He wanted to go home. After nearly three weeks spent in beds not his own, all Trowa wanted to do was fall face first into his bed and sleep for the next twenty four hours. But he couldn’t. Not tonight.  
Because it was February Fourteenth, and Duo had booked a room - their room at the Four Seasons and Trowa was tired, exhausted and spent and empty, but Duo and Heero would be there, waiting for him and he wasn’t the only one who had had a shitty three weeks.  
Heero had kept his promise, had Skyped Trowa when he and Duo fucked and Trowa had watched and masturbated and it had been okay, not as good as being with them, for sure, but better than nothing. They called him every day, sometimes sharing the conversation, sometimes separately, and it was damn good to hear their voices, to hear about their days and their frustrations and listen to Heero tease Duo about his swimming, and Duo tease Heero about running.   
And Heero had also said I love you, one night when Trowa was on speakerphone with both of them and Trowa had stumbled for a moment, taken aback because he realized that he and Duo said it to each other every night, had told Heero they loved him on occasion as well, but Heero had said it this time, in such a casual way that it was clear he meant it, hadn’t wanted to make it a big deal and then Trowa could hear rustling, could hear Duo kissing Heero and it was a good moment, hearing those words from Heero. But Trowa hated Treize even more, because that had been two weeks ago and Trowa still hadn’t seen Heero, or Duo, and now it was February Fourteenth and he should be thinking ahead to whatever mischief Duo had planned for this night, the third anniversary of their wedding, the first anniversary of their time with Heero.  
But he was so damned tired, his clothes rumpled and his face rough with stubble because he hadn’t shaved since yesterday morning, and he was convinced he didn’t have the stamina for whatever Duo had planned for them tonight.  
It was only six when Trowa got to the hotel room, and he felt more than a little guilty when he walked into the empty hotel room and felt relief. They weren’t there yet, which meant Trowa had time to take a shower, maybe, if he was lucky and they had to work a little late, he could even catch a nap.  
Those hopes were hardly appropriate, hardly even romantic, but Trowa was too tired for romance.  
He took his time in the shower, mostly because he found himself leaning against the side and closing his eyes, letting the hot water rain down on him and he dozed off a few times before he finally found the motivation to get out of the shower.  
He debated shaving, even went so far as to dig out his kit from his travel bag, but as he stared at the fogged mirror he really didn’t feel up to it. His eyes were tired, blurry and as he wiped off the mirror he saw that he looked like shit, despite the shower, and he doubted the shave would make that much of a difference.  
He snorted, looking at himself, and figured that one look at him would kill any erotic thoughts Duo or Heero might walk in with.  
Heero had called his phone while he was in the shower and then texted him instead of leaving a voice message.  
Running late. Will be there at seven.  
Half an hour. Time enough for a short nap at least.  
Trowa pulled on clean boxers, his last pair, and climbed into the bed.   
MLG didn’t skimp on accommodations or travel, he rode first class on his nine million plane flights and he stayed in luxury business suites - or the closest thing to it, as the case was in Little Rock - but none of them compared to the Four Seasons. Or at least not this Four Seasons, because he had very fond memories of this bed, and even if not, the feather pillow and the mattress that was just the right blend of soft and firm had him drifting off right away.

-o-  
When Trowa woke up the hotel room was dark except for a blue glow and he rolled over to see Heero sitting in bed beside him, laptop on his thighs, typing away.  
Heero glanced over, saw his eyes open and smiled slightly.  
“Hey,” Trowa said, his voice was rough with sleep and he felt a little out of place, as he usually did after a nap.  
“Hey,” Heero replied and leaned down to kiss him.  
Trowa kissed him back, glad he had at least taken the time to brush his teeth when he had abandoned hope of shaving. And then he remembered.  
“Love you,” he said when they broke the kiss.  
Heero ran a finger over his jaw, scratching at his stubble.  
“I love you, too,” he said and Trowa felt himself grinning, knowing he looked like an idiot and not really caring.  
Heero chuckled and returned to his work, saving whatever he was working on before shutting down his computer. The room was only dark for a moment, and then Heero reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.  
Trowa winced at the light, even though it wasn’t much, and he glanced at the alarm clock. It was after eight.  
“Where is Duo?”  
Heero scowled.  
“On his way, hopefully. He texted about twenty minutes ago. Treize tried to rope him into a dinner meeting with a new client but Alex covered for him.”  
Duo was probably equal parts grateful and irritated by that. Duo already felt he owed Vandy a lot, felt he was pivotal in moving this relationship forward, and Duo didn’t like feeling indebted to anyone.  
“How much of a bastard has Treize been?” Trowa asked, because Duo didn’t lie to him, not really, but he didn’t exactly volunteer information if he thought it would upset Trowa.  
Heero shrugged one shoulder.  
“Aside from sending you all over the country and loading Duo down with enough divorce cases to keep him in settlement meetings or in court for the next two years? He’s been a complete bastard.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“Is Duo still joking about quitting?”  
Heero snorted.  
“I think it stopped being a joke the second time.” Heero shook his head. “He doesn’t even bother to control his face anymore - every time he sees Treize he just gets this look of cold detachment on his face.”  
“People have noticed,” Trowa guessed, because people liked Duo and they liked to look at him.  
Heero nodded.  
“They’ve noticed.”  
Trowa sighed.  
“He can’t quit. None of us can - not if we want to keep practicing law in the US or in Europe. Our non-compete clauses are too strict.”  
“They are,” Heero agreed, but then he hesitated.  
“What?”  
“How attached are you to MLG? To living in New York?”  
Trowa considered the question. It wasn’t like Heero to indulge in idle chat, so this conversation was clearly going somewhere.  
“We’ve talked about moving to LA, but I don’t think either of us is that interested. You?”  
“I don’t want to live in LA,” Heero said and then paused, his blue eyes searching Trowa’s face. “What about London?”  
“London?” Trowa echoed.   
Heero nodded.  
“Our non-compete won’t allow it. MLG has a London office now. We wouldn’t even be able to practice in France or Germany. We’d have to try Turkey or Russia - and Duo isn’t going to go for either of those. Not to mention the fact that we’d all be arrested and thrown in jail if we moved to Russia.”  
“I’m not talking about Russia or Turkey. I’m talking about London. If there was a way,” Heero added when Trowa started to speak again. “If there was a way around the non-compete, would you want to take it? Would you want to move, to leave behind your apartment and your house at Martha’s and everything? Just to get away from Treize?”  
“Just?” Trowa repeated and he had to laugh bitterly. “Just to get away from the man who tries to feel me up every time I’m alone with him? Just to get away from the man who told me last month that he’d happily make me a senior partner if I was willing to to prostitute myself to him? Just to get away from the bastard who wants to end your career and has spent the last six weeks doing his damn best to keep me away from my husband?”  
“London is not New York,” Heero said, his voice soft. “The firm wouldn’t be the same, the money not quite as good, and we would have to start over.”  
Heero wasn’t just weaving some fantasy alternative to their current situation, Trowa realized.  
“What firm?” He asked.  
“Darlian and Partners,” Heero said, his gaze steady.  
It took a moment for Trowa to fit it together, to figure out what the hell Heero was talking about.  
“Relena wants to buy out the London branch.”  
Heero nodded.  
“It would still be associated with MLG, the parent firm would still have a ten percent share, but Thomas would hold that. It’s in the by-laws. We wouldn’t be breaking our non-compete, but we wouldn’t be working for MLG anymore, wouldn’t have to work with or for Treize ever again.”  
“Darlian and Partners?” Trowa asked.  
Heero’s lips twitched a little.  
“She thought four names would crowd the letterhead - that’s what she said, anyway, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t want the alphabetical order to bump her name to second.”  
Trowa must be more exhausted than he had thought, must be bordering on hallucinating because it sounded like Heero was suggesting that Relena, Heero, Duo and Trowa would be partners in a new law firm in London. A law firm far away from Treize.  
“We can try to figure out something else,” Heero said, his voice quiet, and Trowa realized he had been silent for too long.   
“No,” Trowa said. “No, it’s - it’s a really good plan. How feasible is it, though? Would Relena really go for this?”  
“We’ve already got the paperwork drawn up, and her father has given his approval. We just need you and Duo to agree to it.”  
“You did all of this.”  
“I didn’t know if it would work,” Heero confessed, and he looked guilty, “I didn’t want to say anything in case it fell apart. And we don’t have to do it - we can stay here, in New York. We can figure out another way to get around Treize if we have to. But I had to do something. I had to try to -”  
Trowa pulled Heero against him and kissed him.   
It took a moment, for Heero to relax into the kiss and wrap his arms around Trowa and hold him close. It took a moment, but when it happened, when Heero realized that Trowa was happy, was relieved and more than a little overwhelmed by the prospect of freedom from Treize, Heero kissed him back and the world, for the first time in almost two months, felt just about right again.  
That kiss turned into another, and despite the soreness and fatigue Trowa still felt, he also felt a rush of energy, and soon they were both naked, bodies clinging together and it felt so damn good that Trowa forgot about everything else except for the feel of Heero against him.  
Duo found them like that, kissing and caressing and close to orgasm just from their hands on each other.  
He walked into the hotel room carrying a box of pizza and a plastic bag that clinked, the shape suggesting a six pack of beer.  
Duo closed the door and grinned.  
“I guess I’m late to the party,” he said.  
“As usual,” Trowa moaned, Heero’s mouth latched onto his left nipple even as they continued to stroke each other’s cocks.  
“Hm. Yeah, sorry about that.” Duo put down the pizza and the beer and stood at the foot of his bed, watching them, his blue eyes dark and a smirk on his face. He made no move to join them, so Trowa returned his attention to Heero.  
They came together, an accident more than good timing, and Duo went into the bathroom to get a towel.  
He came back and crawled onto the bed and cleaned them off, dabbing the warm, wet towel against their bodies and leaning down to kiss each each of them.  
“It’s good to see you,” Duo said, looking at Trowa with a serious expression on his face.   
He looked tired, maybe not as tired as Trowa felt, but now that he took the time to examine them, it was clear that Duo and Heero weren’t at their best either.  
There was no just about getting away from Treize, Trowa decided.   
“Heero texted me about an hour ago and said you looked pretty wrecked,” Duo said and he leaned back on the bed, stretching his legs out to tangle with Trowa’s. “So I’m shelving my plans to tie you up and use all of these really interesting toys I ordered online for a later date.”  
“Toys?”  
Duo smirked and Trowa couldn’t tell if he was teasing or not. Probably not - Duo rarely joked about sex.  
“And instead… I got pizza from that place you like so much and some beer. It’s probably not going to make our top ten list of anniversaries when we look back in twenty years, but it’s the first one we’ve all spent together, talking,” he added, giving Heero a fond look.  
Trowa thought back to that night, picking Duo up in the bar and it was hard to think that had been a year ago. Sometimes if felt like yesterday, sometimes like a lifetime ago.  
“Hungry?” Duo asked and Trowa nodded. He hadn’t eaten since that morning, when he had grabbed a bagel on his way out of his hotel in Chicago, before he’d been stuck at the airport for six hours when his flight was delayed due to inclement weather.  
Duo rolled off the bed, towards the food, but as he did a box fell out of his jacket pocket.  
It was a light blue box, unmistakable considering the color and the silver writing on it.  
“Er, sorry, that was supposed to be for later,” Duo said and reached for the box, but Trowa beat him to it.  
Jewelry?   
Duo had bought him a watch for Christmas, that first year they had been dating while still in law school across the country from each other, and while Trowa still had the watch, kept it in their lock box because it was special, he didn’t like to wear watches and Duo hadn’t thought to ask, and so Duo hadn’t ventured down the jewelry path again, not until the day they traded rings at the altar.  
Duo bit his lip and actually looked nervous and Trowa wondered just what was in the box. He arched an eyebrow. If Duo really didn’t want him to open it now, he wouldn’t.  
“I - yeah, okay, go ahead. But wait - actually just wait a second.” Duo held up his hands and then sat back on the bed, at the edge, and he looked back and forth between Trowa and Heero.  
“I know it’s just been a year, and it hasn’t even really been, you know - it took us a while to get to this point,” he said. It was rare for Trowa to see Duo this at a loss for words, and while he found it amusing, it was clear that Heero was actually worried, a slight frown on his face and his eyebrows drawn together.  
“Duo, you’re freaking Heero out,” Trowa said and Duo looked over at Heero.  
“Sorry,” Duo smiled, and it looked a little forced. He was nervous as hell about something. “I’m not trying to freak you out. I just - maybe it’s too much or too soon or just not right, but I wanted something.” He drew in a deep breath and seemed to be thinking about what to say next. “Tro and I are married, and we didn’t see this happening - didn’t imagine we’d find you and fall in love and want you with us, want a partner to share our lives but we do.” Duo looked over at Trowa, who nodded in agreement. He had no idea where Duo was going with this. “I don’t want to get a divorce, for a lot of reasons, but none of those reasons is because our relationship with you is less important than the relationship Trowa and I used to have.”  
“I would never ask you to do that,” Heero said.  
“I know, but - I’m fucking this up so much,” Duo muttered to himself. He got off the bed and reached for his briefcase and pulled out a brown file. He handed it over to Heero. “You have to sign - both of you - but this adds you to our will, splits everything we have three ways and it’s not the same thing as a marriage, but it’s legal - it says you’re part of this, part of us. And this,” he gestured to the box in Trowa’s hand, “this is, uh, well… open it, I guess.”  
It wasn’t a traditional ring box, or the right size for a watch or any jewelry Trowa could easily place.  
He opened it and saw three ring boxes lined up, side by side, each with their individual initials on the boxes.  
Duo reached out, took one and passed it to Heero and then gave another to Trowa.   
Trowa opened his and found a ring. It was platinum, and Trowa wondered if this was Duo finally acknowledging that the yellow gold wedding bands weren’t his favorite either, but it wasn’t just a simple band. There was a symbol etched into the top of it.  
“It’s a triquetra,” Duo said. “A trinity thing. I just figured… you know.”  
Trowa looked up at him, took in Duo’s anxious expression and the way he was fiddling with the last box, the one with his initials on it.  
“If you guys don’t like them we can get something else. I just - it felt weird talking to Trowa about it without talking to you about it too, Heero and I just wanted this to be a surprise and -”  
“It’s conspicuous,” Heero finally said, still turning the band over in his fingers, still holding it as though he wasn’t sure if it could hurt him.  
“Too conspicuous?” Duo asked, and there was a raw edge in his voice that made Trowa want to reach out to him.  
Trowa looked over at Heero, and saw that Heero was looking back at him.  
“It’s one thing to not care about what people at MLG think,” Heero said.   
Trowa understood where he was going with this and he sighed.  
“What?” Duo asked, looking between them.  
Trowa gestured towards Heero.  
“I have a plan we should discuss, about us - a possibility for our future.”  
“Um… does this plan involve us not being us?” Duo asked.   
“No, but it does involve us not wanting to walk around the office giving Treize the finger.”  
“Well, I like this plan already.”  
Heero nodded.  
“But you might not want to give me this, to make us this obvious if -”  
“No,” Duo interrupted. “I don’t really care what this plan is. I want to be obvious - I want to be conspicuous. I love you Heero. I love Trowa. This - us - it means more to me than I can put into words. This is just a ring, and it’s just a damn symbol, but it’s our symbol and I don’t care if people know or don’t know. But I want to know we’ve got this, for us.”  
Trowa thought Heero was probably right, that the rings were damned conspicuous and maybe Duo had done it because he was past the point of caring what people thought of them at MLG, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to do it. Maybe Treize was the tipping point, but Duo wouldn’t have done this if it wasn’t important to him.  
Trowa slipped off his wedding band and tried on the new ring. It fit well.  
“I like it,” he said and smiled at Duo.  
Duo grinned back at him, a little hesitant because Heero still hadn’t made a move to put his own ring on.  
“You don’t have to,” Duo said softly. “It hasn’t been that long and -”  
“I love you, Duo,” Heero interrupted him. “I love both of you. I don’t - I can’t believe you’re doing this, but I like it too.”  
He put the ring on and Trowa felt his heart beat erratically for a moment, seeing that ring on his finger, but then Duo was hugging Heero, kissing him and pulling Trowa against them and the pizza, and Heero’s plan, were forgotten for the moment.

-o-


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Entanglement is a multi-chapter fic of the events taking place after Brand New Day. You definitely need to read those three one shots (King of Hearts, Defeated and Brand New Day) before reading this.  
A/N #2: Thanks again for all of the reviews! It means so much to me that I can share this with you folks!  
A/N #3: The end is nigh! Only one chapter left after this one!  
A/N #4: I’m sorry. The fluff… it’s really hard to write. 

Warnings: Angst, language, sex  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Nineteen

“How do I look?”  
Duo struck a pose, hands on his hips, pushing open his suit jacket to show off how well his three piece navy pinstripe suit fit.  
Allison leaned back in her desk chair and folded her arms. She regarded him seriously, looking over his attire from head to toe.  
“I think the Union Jack tie is a little much,” she decided.  
Duo fingered the silk tie. He’d bought one for each of them, but Trowa and Heero had refused to wear them.  
“Really?” He sighed.  
Allison arched an eyebrow.  
“At least you aren’t going to walk into Treize’s office wearing a Manchester United jersey.”  
Duo grinned.  
“Of course I wouldn’t. I’ve always been a Liverpool fan.” He’d discovered only recently that Heero actually was a Manchester fan, and Trowa had interrupted their argument with a long suffering sigh and the suggestion that they spent too much time caring about sports.  
“Here.” Allison reached into the top drawer of her desk and pulled out on the emergency ties she kept there for Duo. “This red will bring out the pink in your shirt more anyway.”  
Duo sighed but gave in. He hadn’t really planned on going in to Treize’s office to deliver the news of his impending departure wearing the tie. He had wanted to, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to.  
“Any chance you’ll reconsider moving with me?” He asked Allison as he switched out the ties.  
“It’s not because I don’t want to,” she assured him. “But I have that husband and child thing to consider.”  
Duo sighed.  
“But I’m so much cuter than Michael. And you can bring the kid thing with you.”  
Allison rolled her eyes.  
“You’re also much gayer than Michael, and I’m not bringing the kid thing without the husband thing to take care of it.”  
Duo nodded. When he had first told Allison about their plans to join Relena’s newly independent London office Allison had immediately and gently rejected his offer to pay for her to move with him.   
“I’m very happy for you,” she said and stood up to straighten his tie, flattening it down and tucking into his vest. “You, Trowa and Heero are going to have a wonderful time.”  
Duo had to stare and Allison smirked.  
“I know everything, Duo,” she said over her shoulder as she sat back down at her desk. “Even if no one else at the office has noticed your new wedding band, I have.”  
Duo fingered the band. It was perhaps a little ridiculous how happy it made him to see Heero or Trowa wearing theirs, to see their hands at work on their computers or leafing through files and catch sight of the triquetra design.  
“Yeah, well…” he wasn’t about to deny anything to Allison, of all people.  
“Go on, you’re already five minutes late to your meeting with Treize,” Allison chided him. “You’re moving past annoyingly late to insultingly late.”  
Duo arched an eyebrow.  
“Who says that’s not what I’m going for?”  
Allison mirrored his expression.  
“I do. Now go. You’ve got nothing to be nervous about.”  
Duo wasn’t entirely sure why he was nervous. He had been looking forward to this day for the last month, ever since Heero first proposed the idea, and now that everything was finalized, he was finally able to walk into Treize’s office and give his notice. It still meant another month of working at MLG, another month of seeing just how much shit Treize put all of them through, but it would be the last month, and that knowledge would surely see them through it.  
Still, as Duo approached Treize’s lavish corner office he felt a little like a first year associate going to court for the first time.  
In a lot of ways, Treize had been a role model for Duo, back when he had first joined the firm, and Duo had been his second on dozens of cases as an associate, learning Treize’s methods and seeing first hand just how much self-confidence could carry the day in a courtroom, how much charm and a smile could persuade a belligerent client into accepting a settlement. Treize had taught Duo a lot, intentionally and unintentionally, and Duo couldn’t help but feel Treize’s treatment of Trowa as a personal insult. He was sure that he hadn’t factored into Treize’s decision to sexually harass Trowa at all, but it had nonetheless hurt Duo, to have the man he admired so much in the courtroom abuse Trowa. And for all that Duo wanted Trowa and Heero to think that he could confidently go toe to toe with Treize to defend them, the truth was that Treize still made Duo feel like a first year associate who forgot to bring the injunction paperwork to court.  
He stopped just outside of Treize’s office, drew a deep breath, reminded himself that he was Duo Maxwell and Treize was, above all else, just a scumbag.  
He opened the door and stepped inside and Treize, sitting behind his desk, looked up with a scowl.  
“You are late.”  
“Yeah,” Duo agreed.  
Treize arched an eyebrow at the lack of apology or excuse.  
“When a Senior Partner requests a meeting with the Managing Partner then he should be on time.”  
Duo nodded.  
“Probably a good thing to go over with the next Senior Partner you promote,” Duo said.  
Treize scowled.  
“What, exactly, did you want to discuss?”   
Duo sat down in the chair across from Treize’s desk and gave a casual shrug.  
“Just a few things.”  
“Regarding?”  
“The future of the firm. My future.”  
Treize leaned back in his chair, a bored expression on his face.  
“I know you and Darlian discussed the possibility of you one day, in the distant future, possibly becoming the Managing Partner,” Treize said. “But that -”  
“Isn’t what I wanted to talk about,” Duo interrupted. “The paperwork is probably sitting on your secretary’s desk right now, but I wanted to do this in person.”  
“Do what in person?”  
“Give my notice. I’m leaving MLG.”  
Treize stared at him for a long, tense moment.  
“And just where will you go? Your contract has an iron clad non-compete clause. I wrote it myself when you made Junior Partner. Unless you plan on practicing law in Indonesia or Russia, you’ve nowhere to go.” Treize smirked, clearly warming to the dark future he foresaw for Duo. “And what about Trowa? Surely you aren’t just going to abandon him here. And surely he knows that none of his clients will be able to retain his services.”  
“He does know that, funnily enough. And it just so happens that we don’t have to go to Russia or Indonesia. Just London.”  
Treize scowled.  
“If you even think of working for a firm in London I’ll have both of you -  
“No, you won’t,” Duo interrupted. “Sorry, I should have let you finish your threat, but I just don’t care. We’re going to work for a firm in London. We’re going to be Senior Partners for a firm in London. And you can’t touch us. You can’t touch him ever again.”  
Treize’s eyes narrowed. Duo had never before come out and acknowledged that he knew that Treize had done, but Treize was intelligent - he had certainly known that Duo’s worship had soured and he had been instrumental in having him shipped off to London in the first place years ago.  
“And just how do you propose to go about this fantasy of yours?”  
Duo shrugged.  
“Well, we’ve got to do a bit of paperwork and a few examinations to get the right credentials to become solicitors but -”  
“I don’t give a rats ass. There is no way you will get around your non-compete.”  
“Actually, there is. See, Relena Darlian - remember her? - well, seems like she’s done aces managing the London branch and Thomas was more than willing to let her buy it out.”  
“What? You’re joking.”  
“Nope. I’m sure that paperwork is sitting on your secretary’s desk as well. I’m sure when she gets back from her birthday lunch with Alex she’ll bring it all in and you can look over the details.” Duo smirked at the frustrated noise Treize made. “Anyway, long story short - she’s buying out the London office and decided she could use a few experienced, talented, ridiculously good looking partners and a few of us have decided to join her. The really great thing, of course, is that Thomas still has a five percent share in Darlian & Partners, so, technically, we won’t even be breaking out non-compete.”  
Treize glared at him, and Duo could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out how to fight this.  
“You still won’t be able to take any clients.”  
Duo shrugged.  
“Tragic. No more divorce cases? Somehow I’ll still be able to sleep at night.”  
“He won’t be able to take any clients either.”  
“Pretty sure he’ll still be able to sleep at night too.”  
“You could have had an amazing future at this firm.”  
Duo snorted.  
“Yeah, I could have. But the day Thomas stepped down that future went away. You had to know we weren’t going to stay. You had to know we’d find some way to get away from you. You don’t get to touch him, ever again, Treize.”  
Duo probably shouldn’t have said the last part. Definitely shouldn’t have, because they did still have a month here, but he needed to say it.  
He stood up.  
“Anyway, my notice is on her desk. So is Trowa’s. Oh - Heero’s too.”  
Treize sneered.  
“All of you are going to London?”  
“Yep. Which is probably going to look really good when you try to recruit anyone new. Also probably going to send a positive message to your clients.”  
Treize’s eyes turned glacial.  
“Anyway, I’ve taken up enough of your time.” Duo saw himself out of the office and as soon as he closed the door behind himself he leaned back on it and drew in a deep breath and let it back out slowly.  
It was over. Or at least, it would be.  
He found Trowa in Heero’s office, the two of them looking at Heero’s computer screen.  
They looked up when he walked in and gave him similar questioning looks.  
“Well, the countdown can officially start,” Duo said.  
Trowa smirked and Heero nodded.  
“You didn’t wear the tie,” Heero noticed.  
Duo rolled his eyes and sat down in the chair across from Heero’s desk.  
“No. Allison wouldn’t let me.”  
“You’re going to be a disaster without her,” Trowa muttered.  
“Tell me about it,” Duo groaned. “She did promise to come over and interview her replacement.”  
“Really?”  
Duo nodded.  
“I might have begged her for three days and finally called her husband to beg him as well.”  
Trowa shook his head.  
“That’s called stalking.”  
“Hey, she’s the one abandoning me.” Duo craned his neck to see what they were looking at. “House hunting?”  
Heero nodded.  
The idea of the two of them looking for a house did weird things to Duo. They had talked about it - had each acknowledged the fact that there was no way to hide their relationship if they bought a house together - but in the end had decided that this was a chance for the three of them to start off together, on even ground, regardless of what people thought of them.  
“I’ve already booked tickets for us to fly over next weekend,” Trowa said. “Heero and I will put together a list and then you can go through and be amazed at our taste.”  
“Obviously I’m amazed at your taste - the two of you had the good sense to pick me so I’m sure you’ll find us a good house.”  
Trowa smirked and Heero’s lips turned up in a slight, fond smile.  
“Anyway,” Duo stood back up. “I’ve got to meet my Mother for lunch. I’ll see you two at home tonight?”  
Trowa moved away from Heero and walked over to Duo to kiss him.  
“That’s from both of us. Good luck.”  
Duo kissed him back.  
“I’ll let you pass that on to Heero when you get a chance.”

-o-  
When Duo had told Helen that he and Trowa were moving to London two weeks ago to join another firm, she had seemed to take it in stride, saying that Duo was going to look fabulous in a white wig. Of course, the next day Duo - and Allison - had started to receive phone calls from Helen as she thought of complications, the house at Martha’s, the boat, visiting her, Duo’s obsession with New York street vendor food, Duo’s obsession with the Yankees, Trowa’s hatred of British food - each day it was a minor struggle to assure Helen that they would be fine, that they would visit, that this was a very good and very necessary step for both of them. Of course, also on her list of complications was the fact that Heero, whom Duo had partnered so well with, would be left behind. Telling her that Heero was actually coming to the new firm as well had pleased Helen more than even Duo had anticipated.  
And perhaps he should wait, have this discussion with her later, after they had all been living together in London for a while, but Duo had decided that if he was going to have one difficult meeting today he might as well have two.  
Of course, lunch with his mother at the Waldorf wasn’t difficult in the same sense that telling Treize to fuck himself was. This meeting actually mattered. His mother’s reaction to the news that Duo and his husband were in a stable, committed relationship with Heero was important to Duo. He wanted her support, and he wanted her to know, to understand that this wasn’t about whatever problems she ascribed to Trowa. This was for both of them. And for Heero.  
“Darling.” She greeted him a hug and kisses on both cheeks. “You are looking splendid. But then, you always did enjoy New York springs.”  
He couldn’t help but wince.  
“Yes, I have. But it will be great to avoid the summer - London is going to be a welcome change.”  
“Hm.” She nodded, hearing him but not accepting the words, and Duo had to fight back a grin. His mother was so damned predictable sometimes.  
It wasn’t until after they were seated and their meals ordered that, after taking a casual sip of her mimosa, Helen tried what he imagined she viewed as her trump card.  
“Duo, I’m sure that you will find an absolutely lovely school for my future grandchild to attend, and I know you’ve probably already looked into the complications of adopting an American baby and know that you will likely have to adopt a British baby and I’m sure that’s perfectly fine but you do realize that means my grandchild will never be the President, don’t you? Are you sure you and Trowa wouldn’t be happier staying in New York, at least until you started your family.”  
Ouch. That certainly was a trump card - mostly because Helen had no idea that all plans for a family had been scuttled. All the same, it did give Duo an opening.  
“Actually, Mother, Trowa and I won’t be adopting.”  
Her eyes narrowed.   
“Is he -”  
“No, Mother. This isn’t about - Trowa wants a family just as much as I do. He was only hesitant at first because - it doesn’t matter.” Duo drew in a deep breath. “Trowa and I… well, we met someone. Someone whom we both love very much and who just fits with us and makes us better. It’s not conventional. It’s not - it’s not normal and it’s not going to be very easy for any of us, but we’ve decided to make it work.”  
“Darling, what on earth are you talking about?”  
Duo sighed.  
“I’m talking about Trowa and I - and Heero. We… we’re a couple, a threesome. We love each other and we’re going to make a life together. In London.”  
Helen stared at him for a long, silent moment.   
The server brought their food and Duo was both grateful for the interruption and horribly tense.   
“Well,” Helen said after taking another sip of her mimosa. “You will, of course, do what makes you happy. You always do.”  
Not the best start - Duo could remember her saying similar things to him when he had been a teenager and disapointed her.  
“I hope you aren’t simply… trying to find something you need in life by adding Heero to your relationship with Trowa when you really might need to step away from Trowa and -”  
“Mother. Trowa wants and needs Heero just as much as I do. This isn’t about me trying to find something Trowa can’t give me. This is about the fact that Trowa and I - he’s the perfect partner for me, Mother. If I had to go through life with just one person at my side, it would be Trowa. He understands me and he loves me and he supports me. This isn’t about any of that. It’s about the fact that Heero just… Heero makes us better. We belong together, the three of us.”  
“Your careers -”  
“We’ll figure it out. It’s not going to be easy. It’s also not as if we’re going to go around all holding hands in public.”  
“Is this why you are moving to London? Did something happen at Meteor?”  
“No, this is unrelated to us.” It more or less was. “London is just better for all three of us, all things considered.”  
Helen had nearly emptied her mimosa.  
“And adopting?”  
Duo shrugged.  
“We can’t. We wouldn’t be approved by any agency - not three of us living together.”  
Helen frowned and turned her attention towards her salad.  
Duo followed her example, trying not to feel too much disapointment. It wasn’t as if he had really expected his mother to smile and congratulate Duo on making such a brilliant life choice. But all the same…  
“Darling, what about surrogacy?”  
“What?” Duo looked up from his own salad and stared.  
“If the three of you won’t be able to adopt, what about surrogacy? It still doesn’t solve the problem of my grandchild not being eligible to be the President, but it would allow you to have a family.”  
“I - we hadn’t even thought of that.”  
He and Trowa had talked about surrogacy years ago, Trowa saying that he wouldn’t mind seeing Duo’s features in miniature, but they had eventually decided to go the route of adoption for a number of reasons.  
Helen smiled slightly.  
“Oh, I’m sure you can find a suitable donor and carrier, Duo. And just think of the wonderful family the three of you will be for a child.”  
Duo swallowed hard. That was probably the nicest thing Helen had ever said about Trowa, and her easy inclusion of Heero into that group as well was the best thing Duo could have hoped for. His mother’s acceptance of the two men most important to him in one sentence. And of course, now he was trying to imagine what it would be like - the three of them and a child, parenting. Together.  
He had to clear his throat before speaking.  
“We’ll have to talk about it. But - but that does sound like something we could do.”  
“Wonderful. Now, with you in London year around, please do tell me that you will finally come home for Christmas instead of going to Paris. It’s only fair that you allow me some time to be your mother.”  
The rest of the lunch went like that, with Helen negotiating visits and vacations with a ruthless efficiency that left Duo more than a little drained by the end of lunch. After seeing her off, after promising to give Heero and Trowa her love - another first - Duo decided to walk through Central Park for a while.  
Allison had already cleared his schedule for the afternoon in anticipation of his lunch with Helen going very long. And while it had not been short - it was already three - Duo didn’t particularly want to go back to the office and have to deal with Treize and whatever fallout he had already prepared.  
Instead, he wandered through the park, watched children playing, and had to wonder if that was a possibility after all. He knew Trowa wanted children, but they had never really spoken to Heero about it - simply told him that they wanted him more than they wanted to adopt. But what if they could have children and all be together? Would Heero want that?  
Duo knew there was no sense in working himself up about it - later, they could all have that discussion later, and maybe Heero would want children and maybe he wouldn’t. Duo thought it was likely he would bring up his sister, or rather, not say anything to them and think very hard about his sister.   
As Duo walked and thought of ways to get around that obstacle, he put his hands into his trouser pockets and felt something beside his keys. It was hard and flat and unfamiliar.  
He pulled it out and saw that it was a room key for the Four Seasons. A note was taped to it.  
Tonight. Five.  
He had to smile, and then he laughed. It was Heero’s handwriting, but it had obviously been Trowa who slipped it into his pocket when he had kissed him at the office.  
Duo had been doing this kind of thing for years. He wondered just what it would feel like to have the tables turned on him.

-o-  
Having the tables turned on him meant being jumped as soon as he stepped into the hotel room. He didn’t even get to close the door behind himself - Heero and Trowa were already there, backing him against the door and kissing him and pulling at his clothes until Duo was naked and gasping and trapped against the door.  
“It’s nice to see you two, too,” Duo moaned as Trowa bit down on his right nipple.  
He couldn’t help but notice that they were both still fully clothed, but Heero started to stroke his cock and Duo momentarily stopped thinking coherently.  
Trowa smirked and reached into his suit pocket to pull out the Union Jack tie Duo had given him.  
Duo had to arch an eyebrow at it, at Trowa pulling it out right now, but then Trowa kissed him deeply, his tongue plunging into Duo’s mouth and leaving him breathless.  
At the same time, however, Heero and Trowa grasped his hands and pulled them together. Duo looked down to see Trowa wrapping the tie around his hands, securing them together in a knot.  
“My turn to get tied up?” Duo asked when Trowa pulled away from the kiss.  
Trowa had done this to him before, once, years ago, and it had been fun. Duo thought about their more recent experience, when Heero and Duo had tied up Trowa. He had to shiver in anticipation, thinking about what the two of them together would do to him.  
“Get on the bed,” Trowa instructed and Duo complied, walking over to the bed and laying down and grinning up at them.  
“Well?”  
Heero smirked and reached into his pocket to pull out his tie and wrapped it around Duo’s legs.  
Trowa climbed on the bed beside Duo and pulled out another tie - surely Duo’s, that Allison had confiscated earlier in the day.  
Trowa leaned down and kissed Duo again before using the last tie as a blindfold.  
Duo didn’t mind getting tied up, but the blindfold definitely added an additional dimension to this.   
He felt the bed shift as Trowa got up and then he was alone, tied up and in the dark and he shifted his legs, stretching his toes out and hoping to find contact with someone.  
No luck, but he did hear Heero chuckle, the low sound sending a jolt of lust through Duo.  
“Patience,” Trowa said and he sounded amused and aroused.  
Duo sighed and forced himself to lay still and wait.   
He listened and he could hear movement, could hear clothes being removed and he shivered in anticipation. That was definitely a good sound.  
A moment later the bed dipped on both sides, and a moment after that Duo felt Heero’s mouth on his, the kiss slow, deep and thorough and it left Duo aching for more when Heero moved away, trailing his mouth down Duo’s body.  
Trowa, after Heero had worked his way down to Duo’s nipples, nudged his mouth open with his cock and Duo angled his head so he could take him in deeply.  
Duo could feel fingers in his hair, tugging at the end of his braid and pulling it loose.   
As Trowa started to shallowly thrust into his mouth, Duo felt Heero’s mouth on his own cock, tongue trailing over the head and shaft in teasing strokes and he moaned in pleasure.  
“We’re going to try something new tonight, Duo,” Trowa said, his voice not quite steady. “Heero and I have wanted to do this for a while now.”  
There was a time when knowing that the two of them were planning something without him would have left Duo feeling vulnerable and anxious. Now, however, he felt only excitement.   
Both Heero and Trowa pulled away from him at the same time and Duo couldn’t quite stop the groan of frustration from leaving his mouth.  
Trowa chuckled and leaned down to kiss him before moving away.  
The bed shifted again, and Duo imagined Trowa and Heero were together, near the foot of the bed, and he could hear Heero moan, could hear Trowa kissing him, and Duo’s hips thrust upwards reflexively, the sounds of the two of them together incredibly arousing.  
A moment later he felt Heero’s hand, slick with lube, run over his cock, stroking him quickly and firmly until Duo was thrusting upwards into the contact.  
But then the hand was a gone and the bed shifted again.  
Duo felt knees on either side of his hips, Heero’s knees he was guessing, and then Heero’s ass was nudging at his cock and Trowa’s hands were guiding Duo inside, pressing him against Heero’s slick entrance and Duo held still, let the two of them control this as they so obviously wanted to.  
Heero’s body felt like the same tight, hot perfect glove that it always was, and Duo sighed in pleasure as Heero sank down, as Duo buried his cock inside.  
“You feel so damned good,” Duo moaned.  
“You too,” Heero assured him and then he gasped.  
Duo could feel something between them, pressing against his cock and Heero’s ass. Trowa’s fingers.  
Trowa worked two fingers inside Heero, just behind Duo’s cock, and Heero groaned, the sound pure sex and Duo fought very hard to keep still. He wasn’t entirely sure where this was going - but he had a suspicion.   
Heero slowly worked his body up and down Duo’s cock, riding him and Trowa’s fingers for a few minutes and then Trowa’s fingers were gone.  
Duo felt the familiar weight of Trowa’s cock and he sucked in a breath.  
“You sure about this?” He had to ask.  
“Yes,” Heero panted, still moving on Duo’s cock. “Yes,” he said again.”  
Trowa shifted, settled on Duo’s legs and pushed Heero down so that his chest was against Duo’s. Heero kissed him and Duo responded enthusiastically, moving his hands to trap Heero’s head.  
Duo could feel Trowa’s cock pressed into Heero, pressed against Duo’s cock and it was intense. Heero’s ass was already so tight, and with Trowa inside too, slowly working into him, Duo felt trapped in the most amazing way.  
“Fuck,” Trowa gasped. “You’re so tight.”  
Duo had to agree, but he was too busy thrusting his tongue in and out of Heero’s mouth, too busy trying not to come instantly because Heero was tight and it was intense and then Trowa started to move.  
Heero cried out into Duo’s mouth, a pleasurable keen that Duo had never heard before.  
“Oh God,” Trowa moaned. “I’m not going to last long.”  
Heero pulled away from Duo’s mouth.  
“Me either,” he said and Duo nodded.   
“It’s too intense,” Duo panted. “It just feels - fuck. It feels so good.”  
“Yes,” Heero moaned in agreement and Duo could only imagine what he was feeling, so stretched and filled by the double penetration.   
It only took a few more slow, deep thrusts from Trowa and Duo came, crying out and arching upwards as he did and Heero kissed him again. Trowa thrust a little harder and a little deeper then, as Duo’s cock softened but still remained inside of Heero.  
Duo could feel Heero’s heartbeat pounding against his chest, could feel Heero’s erratic breathing as they continued to kiss, and he swallowed Heero’s groan of release as he came, as he clutched Duo’s shoulders and then Duo felt the shudder of Trowa’s orgasm, heard his satisfied moan and then he felt the full weight of both Heero and Trowa press against him as they struggled to regain their breath.  
“That was amazing,” Heero said and rolled over to the side, allowing Duo to breathe.  
“God yes,” Duo agreed. “Any chance I can see round two?”   
Trowa chuckled.  
“Not a chance.” He leaned down and kissed Duo. “We’ve got two more hours until our dinner reservations and Heero and I are going to do whatever we want to you, Duo, and all you can do is lie back and take it.”  
Duo shivered.  
He loved it when Trowa was like this.  
“And maybe if you are very good,” Heero leaned down and bit his earlobe, “we won’t put your blindfold back on after dinner.”

-o-


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Okay, here it is. The end. I just want to say… Thanks so much for all the feedback on this. I love how much you all love 1x2x3 because it’s far and away my favorite thing to write and I just… yeah.  
Want to say a super special thank you to Miss Murdered for starting me down this path with our Smut Off featuring Trowa and ties - that got me started with Defeated and King of Hearts and this just kind of evolved from there.  
A/N #2: There was SO much I wanted to touch on with this epilogue so I kind of… jumped around a bit and I’ll say this now, you might not want to read the Forty Years Later one unless you’re really prepared for it.

 

Warnings: Angst, language, sex, FLUFF AND ANGST  
Pairings: 2x3, 1x2x3, past 1x4, past 1x5

Entanglement  
Chapter Nineteen

Five Years Later

They had drawn straws. Well, Duo had taken a piece of spaghetti and broken it into thirds last night while making dinner and they had each drawn a piece.  
Trowa had drawn the short straw, and Duo had muttered something before going back to cooking and Heero had kissed Trowa, happy for him, even if he was a little jealous.  
Dinner had tense, with Duo on edge and fidgety and after dinner, while Trowa nabbed the peaceful task of washing dishes, Heero helped him double check everything. Helped him make sure that it was all ready - that nothing was out of place, that no hidden death traps were lurking.  
It was cute, which Heero would never say out loud, but Duo this nervous was - when it wasn’t eye-rollingly frustrating - adorable.  
At least, that’s what Heero thought until they went to bed, until Duo tossed and turned for hours and finally Heero held him down and kissed him while Trowa grabbed some lube and it took two hours of sex, of them falling asleep sweaty and sticky and tangled together and even then, Duo was up at six, dressed and harassing Trowa and Heero until they got out of bed and showered.  
Heero was grateful that Trowa showered with him, shared his eye rolls when Duo told them to hurry up, grateful too for the mutual blow jobs because he felt confident it would be a while before they managed to have sex again. Or peace. Or quiet.  
Although Duo was doing a great job of ruining the last of their piece and quiet as it was, shouting at them to move their asses and tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for them to pour their coffee.  
It didn’t help that he looked ridiculous, wearing the stupid bag across his shoulder like a duffel, trying to make it look cool but it was silly and he caught Heero smirking at him and it only seemed to irritate him.  
By the time they got to the hospital Heero was starting to wonder if their partnership could withstand the day, especially when Trowa finally snapped at Duo, finally told him to calm the fuck down because everything was going to be fine.  
They had glared at each other and Duo had slammed his way out of the car, the echo of the door reverberating through the parking deck but then he had sighed, apologized to both of them and kissed Trowa.   
Of course, if Duo was a mess, Helen was just as bad, if not worse, and Heero actually started to resent Trowa as he left Heero and Duo in the waiting room with Helen and followed a nurse down a hallway.  
Heero loved Duo. He did. He loved him so very much. So very, very much but after three hours with Helen and Duo pacing the waiting room, going through checklist after checklist of things that they had all gone over for weeks now - Heero was on the verge of calling Relena just so he could have some kind of backup, some kind of cold-minded, ruthless disdain.   
As it was, after three hours, a nurse came back to get them and Heero, Duo and Helen followed her down a hallway, towards the maternity ward, and there they were.  
Trowa was dressed in scrubs, including a scrub cap and Heero made a mental note that he looked sexy as hell and that was a fantasy to revisit some day but then his attention was completely captivated when Trowa stepped closer to the window, turned to give Duo and Heero the first view of their daughter’s perfect face.  
Duo was staring, his mouth slightly open and his lips curled up in a smile and then she opened her eyes, looked right at them and gave a cry that made Duo laugh and Heero smiled, at her, at Duo - at Trowa who looked over at him and actually had tears in his eyes and Heero swallowed hard, swallowed against his own tears because he had never seen anything or anyone so perfect, from her tiny fingers wrapped around Trowa’s thumb to her blue eyes and her small, perfect lips and her wild head of reddish-brown hair.  
“Oh, she’s going to be so lovely,” Helen said from behind them and Heero had to smile in agreement. “I’m so glad she has her father’s hair - she’s going to be absolutely perfect.”  
That made Duo cry, and he turned and gave his mother a look that spoke volumes for how much her words meant, and Heero knew exactly how he felt.  
Over the years, Helen had mellowed in her antipathy towards Trowa, but this might have been the nicest thing she had ever said.  
Heero also completely agreed with her.  
That had been another drawn straws event - though that time it had been actually straws, coffee stirrers from the cafe across the street from the fertility clinic - and Trowa had won that one as well, which both Heero and Duo had been happy about because they had already agreed that they wanted at least one of their children to be Trowa’s, and they would have to wait and see about her eyes, to see if they turned the same clear green as Trowa’s or if they stayed blue, like her mother’s, but either way, her hair looked like Trowa’s and she did look perfect.  
Trowa was prompted to put her down and walked over to her crib and Heero felt a bittersweet tug on his heart.  
Hana Maxwell.  
Duo had been overridden on the last name - Heero and Trowa both thought Maxwell was a better last name than either of their own and, Heero suspected, Trowa knew it would mean a lot to Helen.  
Her first name, however, had taken three months on them to settle on.  
Trowa had suggested it, and Duo had looked at Heero with concern, to see how he felt about the idea of naming his daughter after his dead sister and it had hurt, the first few times when he thought about saying her name aloud again after all of these years, when he thought of Hana’s face and her laugh and he knew that there would be days when it still hurt to say her name, but it also felt right.  
It felt good, seeing her name now, knowing that this Hana was his, his daughter. Their daughter.

-o-

Sixteen Years Later

“Heero.”  
He knew that tone of voice, knew exactly what it meant and he couldn’t help but sigh when he looked up to see Hana standing in the doorway of the office, hands folded behind her back, bottom lip between her teeth and her green eyes wide hopeful.  
“Yes?”  
“Duo said that if you said it was okay I could go out tonight with my friends.”  
Heero arched his eyebrow at that.  
“What did Trowa say?”  
Hana rolled her eyes.  
“He said that I just wanted to go and hang out with Trevor and it’s not just going to be Trevor, I promise!” She came closer and sat on the edge of his chair, wrapping her arms around his neck.  
“Please, Heero. Susan will be there and Beth too - and Mike and Alice. It’s just a movie.”  
Heero could imagine what had happened. Tonight was Duo’s turn to take Alex to football practice and Hana had probably asked him while he was on his way out of the door and Duo had tossed it back on Heero’s shoulders. And of course Trowa didn’t want Hana to go out with her friends - because Trowa had seen Hana and Trevor kissing last week when Trevor walked her home and Trowa had started muttering things about boarding school or moving back to New York or building a damned tower to lock her up in and it had been amusing, to Heero and Duo, until Trowa had turned to them and asked them if they thought the idea of their perfect baby girl having sex was funny and no, it hadn’t been, and had immediately shut them up.  
So Duo was off with Alex, who, despite being Heero’s biological son took after Duo so damned much Heero and Trowa liked to joke that Duo had swapped out the sperm. Duo liked to take Alex out for a late dinner after practice, and it would be hours yet before they were home.  
And Heero was stuck here all night - either with a moody Hana or a pissed off, mildly homicidal Trowa who had actually mentioned something about finding a shooting range yesterday.  
Then again, it had been a few weeks since just he and Trowa had the house to themselves.  
“Of course you can go,” Heero told Hana and she cheered with glee. “But,” he added quickly, “if your boyfriend kisses you on our front porch again Trowa will probably lock you in your room until you’re thirty.”  
Hana rolled her eyes but kissed him on the cheek.  
“Thank you Heero!”  
She skipped out of the room, calling out to Trowa that she Heero had said yes and she would be home by ten - the way too late curfew Duo had given her. Way too late according to Trowa, who thought sunset was a reasonable curfew for her.  
A moment later Trowa came into the office, arms folded and a cross expression on his face.  
“I’m never going to forgive you if she comes home pregnant,” Trowa said.  
Heero rolled his eyes, saved the work on his computer and stood up and crossed the room to kiss Trowa.  
“Don’t worry. Duo took her to a family planning center two weeks ago. She’s got plenty of condoms and she’s on birth control.”  
Trowa’s eyes widened and then narrowed.  
“He did not.”  
Heero smirked and kissed Trowa again, running his hands over his body and guiding him towards the desk until Trowa forgot, at least momentarily, about Hana’s virtue.

-o-

Twenty Five Years Later

“I cannot believe I’m doing this,” Duo muttered as he tugged his tie into place and smoothed over his suit.  
Heero kissed his cheek.  
“You’ve only wanted this since you were twenty four, Duo. Of course you’re doing this.”  
Duo sighed and turned.  
“It’s the right thing, isn’t it?”  
Heero snorted.  
“I think the time to doubt would have been six months ago when we let Relena buy us out of the firm and we sold our house in London and moved back to New York.”  
Duo gave him a lopsided grin.  
“Probably,” he agreed.  
Duo smoothed down his suit one last time and then drew in a deep breath.  
“How do I look? Like the new managing partner of Meteor Law Group?” He spun around and Heero pulled him in for another kiss, this time on his lips.  
Duo kissed him back, deepening the kiss until Heero started to walk them backwards, towards the bed, and Duo’s hands were already reaching for his belt, unbuckling it and sliding it free when a cleared throat stopped them.  
Trowa stood in the doorway of the bedroom, arms crossed, regarding them with an amused expression.  
“You’re going to be late on your first day,” he pointed out.  
Duo sighed and stepped away from Heero.  
“I can’t believe you don’t have to go to work until noon,” Duo muttered and Trowa smirked and stretched, his sweater riding up a little and he looked good, sexy as hell in his sweater and gray trousers and Heero should be used to it by now, Trowa’s Sex Me Professor look as Duo called it, but he still wasn’t.  
After Alex had been born, eighteen years ago, Trowa had decided to stop practicing law, to be a full time parent for their children and after a few years, once both Alex and Hana were in school, he had started teaching part time, evening classes at a college in London and had fallen in love with it.  
Now that they were back in New York, he had joined the faculty at Columbia Law School and he seemed happier teaching than he ever had actually practicing law. Heero was happy for him - and happy for Duo, who had been invited to step in as the Managing Partner of MLG when Treize had been forced out by the other senior partners.  
“You know,” Duo said to Heero, smirking evilly, “this means I’m your boss now.”  
Heero rolled his eyes.  
“Maybe at work,” he agreed.   
“So when I tell you to meet me at the Four Seasons for a very important meeting with a prospective client today at four pm, you can’t say no.”  
Heero chuckled and Duo grinned. He looked over at Trowa.  
“See you then?”  
Trowa nodded.  
“As if I’d miss one of our Four Seasons dates.”

-o-

Thirty Years Later

“You like her, right?”  
Heero gave Alex a look.  
“Of course I like her,” he assured his son.  
Alex nodded, drew in a deep breath, and started to walk out of the kitchen but then he stopped again.  
“I mean - you knew, right? When you met Duo and Trowa? You knew they were the ones?”  
Heero smirked.  
“Yeah. I knew they were the ones.”  
Alex nodded again and started out of the room but then stopped yet again.  
“Okay, but what if she says no? Maybe I should wait? Ask her when it’s just us?”  
Heero shrugged.  
“That’s up to you. It’s a nice gesture to ask her here, in front of your family, but maybe you want this moment to be for just the two of you?”  
He really didn’t think there was a chance that Maggie, his son’s girlfriend of three years, would say no to his marriage proposal - but he could also imagine how much tension the moment would have with Heero, Duo, Trowa, Hana and her husband Thomas all looking on.  
“After dinner, why not take her for a walk on the beach?” Heero suggested and Alex smiled.  
“Yeah. That sounds perfect. Thanks!”  
Alex finally walked out of the kitchen and Heero smirked after him.  
“He going to do it?” Duo asked, coming back into the kitchen with a bottle of wine.  
“I think so,” Heero told him and kissed him, because Alex reminded him so much of Duo and he was glad, glad that their son was like Duo.  
Duo kissed him back and smirked.  
“Finally. I was starting to think he was going to build a shrine to that ring.”  
Heero shook his head.  
“He’s just been waiting for the right moment.”  
And he had picked a good one, Heero thought, Thanksgiving dinner at Martha’s, at their house on the water, with their family gathered around.  
“Where’s Tro?” Duo asked.  
Heero rolled his eyes and Duo laughed.  
“Still looking at Hana’s sonogram photos?” Duo guessed and Heero nodded.  
“I swear to God, for a guy who threatened to castrate the first man Hana slept with, he is obsessed with being a grandfather.”  
“He’s going to spoil the grandkids rotten,” Heero predicted.  
“God, you know he is - and he’s going to teach them nothing about sports. Promise me you’ll back me up and we’ll kidnap them to take them to Yankees games?”  
Heero nodded.  
“Of course.”

-o-

Forty Years Later

As Heero turned off the lights in his office for the last time he couldn’t help but feel a tug of nostalgia. He had a lot of fond memories from this office, his original corner office at MLG that he had acquired again when he and Duo came back to the firm fifteen years ago.   
But, as much as he had enjoyed his time at the office, it was time to leave it all behind and he wasn’t sorry for that, wasn’t sorry for the fact that they had decided to retire this year, to step back from work and focus on their grandchildren and each other.  
As he walked down the hall he paused by Duo’s old office, his first office at MLG and he had to smile at the nameplate, Alex Maxwell.   
It had taken them all by surprise when Alex had decided to go to law school, but he had been determined and he had been accepted to Yale, Harvard and Stanford but in the end had avoided the potential decades of petty arguments between his father’s and gone to Columbia, to be close to Maggie while she worked on her PhD at NYU, and he had done well.  
Duo’s other office was by the elevators, and there was no avoiding it, or the lump in Heero’s throat as he walked past it.  
Alex Trant the nameplate said now, had said for the last six months, but Heero still wasn’t used to seeing that name and it was, in all honesty, a good thing that he didn’t have to look at it anymore.  
He rode the elevator down to the ground floor and walked out of the MLG offices and he probably shouldn’t think of it as the last time, he should plan on coming back to visit Alex, and he would, eventually, but it would take a while.  
He flagged down a cab and sat in the back with a sigh.  
It had been a long day, a tough day, as he went out to lunch with Alex and Alex to commemorate his last day and he worked to make sure all of his cases were wrapped up or at least ready to hand over, and it wasn’t over yet.  
In some ways, this would be the best part of his day, in other ways the worst.  
He stopped by the Mexican place a few blocks from their house that Duo had fallen in love with and ordered his favorite before flagging down another cab to head across town.  
It was nearly eight by the time he got there, and he’d taken too long, really should have left the office earlier. Should have left it months ago, but Duo hadn’t wanted him to, hadn’t wanted him to drop everything.  
When he stepped into the hospital room Duo was still awake, propped up in hospital bed and Trowa was beside him, had drawn up the damned uncomfortable hospital chair and they had a chess board set up between them.  
Duo gave him a tired smile and Heero returned it, crossing the room and kissing him.  
“Hey,” Duo greeted him and then sniffed the air. “Oh, please tell me that’s what I think it is.”  
Heero smirked and nodded and presented the bag.  
“Oh, I knew there was a reason you were my favorite husband,” Duo said.  
Trowa gave him a look, and Heero leaned over to kiss him as well.  
“Alex send his love,” he told them. “Maggie’s going to bring the kids by tomorrow to…”  
“To say goodbye,” Duo prompted him.  
Heero swallowed hard and nodded.  
He saw Trowa look away for a moment, saw his throat work as he too battled back his emotions.  
But they had talked about this. Had talked about it for months now, but that didn’t make it easier.  
“Hana and Thomas came by today, with Helen,” Trowa said and his voice was rough.  
Heero nodded. He could only imagine what that had been like. He would have to call Hana, maybe tomorrow.  
He looked back at Duo, at the thin, papery skin on his face and his sunken eyes and it was obvious he was in pain, obvious he was ready, but Heero wasn’t. He didn’t think he ever would be.  
Duo reached out and gripped his hand and even that was too much. Duo had always been so strong, his grip warm and comforting and now…  
“Tro and I were talking about that time we went to Paris - after Alex got married? - and the maid walked in on us fucking on the floor that morning and stopped to stare. Remember that?”  
Heero sniffed back tears and nodded.  
“You asked her if she wanted to take a picture.”  
Duo smirked, and it was a ghost of his usual expression, but it was still there, his energy, his incredible passion.  
“And she did,” Trowa contributed and his voice was just barely even, and it was obvious he was trying so hard to keep himself together for Duo, for Heero.  
“Oh, come on,” Duo said and now he sounded near tears as well. “I know the sex was incredible but we don’t have to cry about it.”  
Trowa laughed and it was a watery sound but a laugh all the same and Duo smiled at him.  
“You guys are going to be fine,” Duo said. “Promise me. You’re going to be fine.”  
Heero nodded and Trowa did as well, neither able to speak.  
“Okay, now you’ve got to let go of my hand Heero so I can eat this delicious contraband before Nurse Ratchet comes through and sees it.”  
Heero let him go and sat down in the other chair, on Duo’s other side, and he and Trowa picked up the chess game Duo had started.   
Duo watched them, eating a few bites of the elaborate nachos Heero had brought for him, but he didn’t eat much, hadn’t had much of an appetite for months now, and Heero suspected he would have been just as happy not eating it at all, had only had those handful of bites for Heero’s sake.  
Heero fell asleep eventually, holding Duo’s hand and when he woke up it was in the middle of the night.  
Trowa had fallen asleep too, was leaning forward and his head was pillowed on Duo’s bed and Heero knew his back would be killing him when he woke up.  
“I love you.”  
Heero looked up and saw Duo looking at him. His breathing was a little uneven, a little painful sounding and Heero shook his head.  
Duo nodded.  
“I do, ‘Ro.” Duo wiped away one of his tears. “Take care of Tro, will you?”  
“I’m not ready for this, Duo,” Heero admitted, even though they had agreed - he and Trowa had agreed not to fight this, not to argue with Duo because Duo was in pain every day and if he wanted it to end, if he was ready to go, they needed to let him.  
“Neither am I,” Duo said, “but it’s time, ‘Ro. It’s my time.”  
Heero stared at him for a long moment, saw the shadow of the man Duo had once been, saw the hint of mischief in those pain clouded blue eyes.  
“I love you too, Duo.”  
“Do you remember that time when Alex was a baby - when we went to the aquarium and I took Hana to look at the sea turtles and you and Trowa lost Alex?”  
Heero nodded. It had been the most terrifying moment of his life.  
“And then we found him? Sitting in front of the seal exhibit, just smiling and laughing and pointing at the damn seals and he was so happy to see us? And we just kind of forgot how angry and scared we were?”  
Heero nodded again.  
“The smile on his face…” Duo trailed off and shook his head. “He was so happy.”  
Heero looked at him, watched him fall asleep and he smoothed Duo’s hair back, off his forehead and kissed him, kissed the soft smile on his lips.  
He looked over to see that Trowa had woken up, was wincing and sitting upright.  
“What time is Maggie coming tomorrow?” Trowa asked him softly.  
“Around ten - she’ll bring the kids and then Alex and Hana will come back after lunch.”  
Trowa nodded.  
“They’re going to… administer the cocktail at one.” Duo had insisted they call it that - had smirked and said he was glad he got to go out with one last drink and it hadn’t been funny, the first time, and it wasn’t any funnier now, but still. It was what Duo wanted to call it.  
“That day - the day we lost Alex,” Trowa said. “Duo made us stay calm, remember? Told us not to freak out.”  
“Which was rich, coming from him,” Heero muttered, because of all of them, Duo was the one who thought every cut and scrape was the gateway to flesh eating viruses.  
Trowa smiled slightly.  
“But he was right. We found him again, in the end.”

 

-o-

The End.

 

I’m sorry but I had to - I mean - people die.   
And just think of how many years they had together and they were all so happy and it’s fine! And yes, I’m crying because I made myself cry so I’m sorry but I wanted to give it an ending, a final act and… I’m sorry and please forgive me.


End file.
